The Complex
by HollytheKitty
Summary: Sequel to Trouble at Sea. With the Overtakers once again at large, the Keepers must go on a quest around the Magic Kingdom to find an ancient Disney artifact, one that hasn't been seen in over thirty years: The Sorcerer's Hat. Story's complete!
1. Preface

****_Author's Note: Hello! I know I haven't been on in ages. I'm doing Nanowrimo right now. This is actually my nano story. I can't guarantee quick updates, unfortunately._

_Anyway, this is my sequel to an earlier story, Trouble at Sea. I suggest you read that first if you haven't already. This is just the preface, so it's pretty short. The next chapters will be longer._

_Read & Review!_

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><p><strong>THE COMPLEX<strong>

**PREFACE**

Long after the busy walkways of EPCOT emptied out, a green-skinned fairy paced back and forth at Club Cool, an international beverage store where guests could "cool off" while sampling various Coca-Cola products from around the world.

As the name suggested, Club Cool was one of the more heavily air conditioned locations in the park. It was a place where the woman could hide without causing too much suspicion. She grimaced as she stepped into a puddle of soda. When she had control of the parks, messes like this would _not_ be tolerated.

The temperature dropped as a large blue-black beast lurked into the room. Like many Disney Villains, Chernabog had a tendency to affect the climate of the area he was in. But of course, none of them could do it to quite the degree of the woman in front of him, the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil" herself, Maleficent.

"Hello, boss." Maleficent greeted when she saw him. The beast merely nodded in return; he was not one for conversation. Few knew the sound of his voice because of it. "Our scouts have found a lead." She informed him, a vicious smile forming on her lips. "The old man is aware of it, as well. Everything is going according to plan."

"Good," Chernabog answered in his deep voice. "Are you sure he will follow as you want him to?"

"Well, of course I can't be certain," Maleficent said in a tone that made it obvious she didn't have the slightest doubt. "but so far it appears so. We'll have him playing right in to our hands soon enough."

Chernabog nodded again. He glanced out of one of the many windows in the building: there was no one outside to hear what they were about to discuss. "And the spy?" He questioned. "How can you be positive no one will notice their enchantment?" At this, Maleficent's grin grew even larger.

"Grimhilde has found a spell that will allow us complete control of one's actions. So long as we don't make them do anything out of the ordinary, no one will suspect a thing. Those 'keepers' won't know what hit them." She paused, pensive. "This better work." She mumbled. "We can't afford to fail again…"

Outside, thunder rumbled. Rain poured down in heaps. Across Orlando, people tossed and turned in their beds, trying their best to ignore the storm. No one—not even a band of holographic teens—knew about the conversation. None of them knew what had happened to bring them there, and they certainly didn't know what was to come.

Two weeks from now, nothing would be the same. Not for the Kingdom Keepers, not for Walt Disney World, and definitely not for the world waiting outside.


	2. Chapter One: A Quest, of course

_Author's Note: Here's chapter one! I didn't proofread it, sorry. When this story is finished I'll go back and correct some of the errors. Anyway, enjoy!_

_Please review! I would really appreciate that. :)_

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><p><strong>PART ONE: THE SORCERER'S HAT<strong>

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE<strong>

Finn Whitman was late for English class.

Again.

Of course, it wasn't _his_ fault. His previous teacher, Mr. Fletcher, didn't seem to grasp the concept that the bell ringing meant that class was over. He insisted on keeping them two or three minutes afterwards. Which would be fine if his class was last period, but it was sixth. So everyday, Finn found himself running through the crowded hallways of Winter Park High School, bumping into teenagers walking at snail speed, and climbing down the stairs, just to be marked as tardy everyday.

To put it plainly, his life kind of sucked at the moment.

In a weird way, he sort of wished that DHIs would start crossing over again at night. It was late September, and everything in his life was sort of…blah. Well, except maybe one thing.

"Did you do the homework last night?" He asked Amanda after he sat down in his chair.

"Hi to you, too." Amanda greeted, rolling her eyes. "And we didn't have any homework."

"Oh, good." He said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh, and, um, hi." Amanda rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling.

"Fletcher held you again?" She questioned, and he nodded. "So glad I don't have him." The teacher then shushed the class. After twenty mind-numbing minutes of subject-verb agreement, the students were given time to work silently on homework. So, naturally, they all watched videos or talked to their friends. The teacher pretended not to notice.

"Have you talked to Wayne recently?" Amanda whispered.

"No, not since we left the cruise ship." He answered. Last December, the Keepers had gone to Castaway Cay to stop a small group of Overtakers from controlling the Disney Cruise Line. Amanda hadn't gone with them, having been stuck in Maryland with her sister, Jess.

"I guess that's a good thing." Amanda said. "It means the Overtakers are lying low."

"Yeah, but isn't that weird?" Finn asked. "I mean, it's been almost a year since anything has happened. I keep feeling like something is going to jump out at me at any minute." Amanda shrugged.

"Let's just enjoy it while we can." She glanced at clock: ten more minutes left of school. "Hey, want to hang out at the Frozen Marble after school?" She asked. She and Finn had been going out for the last two months, after he finally got enough nerve to ask her out. The past two months had been wonderful, even if the other Keepers kept making fun of them. The only one who refrained from this was Holly, though she had been unusually quiet the past couple months. Something was bothering her, but she would snap at whoever tried to ask her what it was.

In front of him, two girls were giggling about something on their computers.

Suddenly, one stopped and glanced at the other and pointed to the screen. "What the hell?" The other girl asked aloud. "Why would anyone do that?"

Amanda's eyes widen, seeing what they were referring to. "Finn, look," she commanded, sounding slightly confused.

He looked up at the computer screen, wondering what the big deal was. Opened was an Internet article with the headline _Vandalism Strikes Again in the Happiest _

_Place on Earth_. Under it was two pictures: one, taken years ago showed the It's a Small World ride in wreckage. Dolls floated in the water having been somehow ripped off of their platform. Finn recognized that one—it was taken the morning after the Keepers had been there. The dolls had actually come to life and attacked them, not that anyone would ever believe _that_ story. The other picture, however, was new. In it showed the firehouse on Main Street where Wayne lived. In the picture, the building was covered in toilet paper and a weird, gooey substance—egg, by the looks of it.

"Can I see that?" Amanda asked. The girl nodded, moving the laptop towards them.

Finn read the article to himself:

_Today, hundreds of workers arrived in the Magic Kingdom, baffled by the sight of raw eggs and paper covering the firehouse, a store in Main Street, U.S.A._

_"Nothing like this has ever happened before," said one of the security guards, who wished to remain anonymous. "Sure, we've had rides broken into before, but no one's done anything like this."_

_Disney has had a history of vandalism in the past two years. Overnight, rides would be destroyed, adding to the rumors of the mysterious 'Kingdom Keepers', a group of kids who supposedly woke up in the parks at night and defended Walt Disney World from attacks. The rumors have been dying down recently, but this new event is causing some suspicion. The security guard, however, finds this to be ridiculous._

_"No kids would be able to get security without our notice." He says. "I don't know who did this, but they're obviously experts."_

_Some people are linking this to a recent robbery at the nearby Publix, where five cartons of eggs and multiple boxes of toilet paper seemingly vanished out of thin air. Nothing showed up on the security cameras, causing confusion for it's employees._

_Who did this? What point were they trying to make? And why did no one catch them in the act?_

_"It's embarrassing for us," the security guard admitted. "You'd expect security to on top of things, but I guess we're not."_

_Updates to come._

"Bizarre, isn't it?" The girl said. "I mean, why would someone even bother?"

"Who knows?" Amanda asked, her voice slightly shaky. "But it's probably just some meaningless prank." The girl nodded, and turned back around before shutting her computer.

"It's the Overtakers." Finn whispered, once he was sure no one was listening. "I'm sure it is."

"It's Wayne's house." Amanda pointed out worriedly. "Do you think something happened...?"

"No." Finn responded, shaking his head. "They wouldn't be so public about that. Its probably just a warning, or something." Amanda bit her lip.

"I hope so." The bell rang, causing Finn to jump. He stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He heard a buzzing noise. Amanda checked her phone.

"Not mine." She said. He grabbed his phone out of his bag, and sure enough, there was a new message.

**From: Philby**

**Did you hear about the firehouse? Meet at Frozen Marble in 20 min.**

"Philby." He explained to Amanda. "He said to meet at the Frozen Marble." Amanda sighed.

"Looks like this is starting again, huh?" She said.

"Yeah," He agreed. "Is it weird that I missed it?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, I missed it, too." She admitted. "I just wish it wasn't so dangerous." She had a point. Finn couldn't remember all of the times one of them had been close to being killed by the Overtakers. Because of this, the Keepers' parents were constantly trying to interfere. Not that they ever succeeded.

"C'mon." He said, motioning towards the door. "Let's go."

~.~

Walking home wasn't Holly's first choice. One of the (many) problems with living in Florida was that you could never get anywhere by foot. Everything was stretched out with nothing but ugly roads, highways, and sidewalks to connect them. The black asphalt made it feel like a hundred degrees and the air was terribly humid. Most places cooled down by September. Most places had trees that changed colors in the fall. Most places Holly could actually bear living in.

Florida, unfortunately, did not qualify as 'most places.'

She had missed her bus, thanks to a club meeting that had run a bit longer then expected. She had been about to call her mother when she got a text telling her to go to the Frozen Marble. She wasn't entirely sure why. Something about a firehouse.

Wiping the sweat off her face, Holly left the parking lot of St. Thomas High

School. She couldn't wait to graduate, to be free. On days like today, she wanted nothing more then to huddle up in her bedroom and enjoy the silence of being alone. Away from teachers, parents, and anyone else who tried to get in her head with all of their stupid, prying questions. _What's wrong Holly? Are you sure you're feeling O.K? I'm here to help you, Miss Turner._ Why couldn't they just accept her as some freak and leave her alone? They weren't helping her, they just getting on her nerves! Why did something have to be 'wrong' with her, anyway? She felt perfectly fine, thank you very much!

Up in a tree beside her, a mocking bird echoed a song into air. Oh, how she envied birds. There were so much fewer restrictions and pressure put on them.

Especially the mockingbird, Florida's own state bird-it didn't even have to choose it's own song. It could just mimic someone else, and no one would tell it that it couldn't. The noise stopped abruptly. As she looked up, Holly saw the mocking bird fly away to another tree. _Lucky_, she thought.

Suddenly, Holly felt something liquid fall on her head and into her hair. At first she was afraid it was bird crap, but, scooping some into her hand, she realized it was gooier—something she saw her mother use all the time when cooking.

Egg yolk, the kind found in chicken eggs.

What in the…?

~.~

Sitting across from your ex, even when there are a million other people around you, is very, very awkward. At least, that's how Charlene felt. She and Maybeck had broken up last spring, and with the DHI business, she just couldn't get away from him. But it had been a while since they had talked face to face.

"Where is Philby?" She complained. "He's the one who organized this stupid meeting!" She sounded like a whiny brat, but she didn't care at the moment. It was just her luck to be the only other person to show up early. Maybeck wasn't known for punctuality, so why was he even here?

"Relax, Char." Maybeck said. "Calm down. Not that big of a deal." She glared at him.

"Shut up, will you?" She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but I'm not in the greatest mood today." Something about talking to Maybeck just pissed her off. She couldn't even remember why they broke up—just that they were arguing all of the time when it happened. "Oh, and don't call me that."

"Hey, guys!" Willa sat down next to her. She seemed to be completely unaware of the death glares the two teens were giving each other—or, more likely, she completely ignored the death glares the two teens were giving each other. "Did you see what Jess drew?"

"No." Charlene answered, frowning. "Is it something to do with the Overtakers?" Willa nodded.

"During lunch, she just got into this trance and started sketching." She explained. "She drew the firehouse. A few minutes later, Philby comes to us saying that some one trashed the firehouse. Creepy as hell."

"Did she draw anything else?" Maybeck asked. Willa nodded again.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't show us what it was." She said, frowning. "She looked worried, like whatever was in the picture really freaked her out. I'm not surprised, considering some of her other drawings. She said she would show us when she got here."

"Speaking of which," Charlene cut in. "where is everyone else?" Willa shrugged.

"Don't look at me."

Ten more minutes had passed by the time everyone had gotten there. Sure enough, when she got there, Jess was clutching a piece of notebook paper, glancing at it every few seconds. Meanwhile, Philby tried to get everyone's attention. "Guys! Listen!" He said. They quieted down, the seven of them—Holly had just run into the store at this point—looking at him with undivided attention. "Wayne contacted me during class today." He told them. "He said that what happened to the firehouse _was_ the Overtakers, but a small and probably harmless group of them."

Maybeck let out a snort. "Since when have the Overtakers ever been harmless?" He questioned.

"They didn't seem that bad." Holly said. "I mean, we were able to get a hold of Alice by hitting her in the head with a book. And not even that heavy of a book."

"Yeah, but the ones you saw on Castaway Cay weren't that bad." Finn pointed out. "They weren't even part of the actual Overtakers—just a bunch of characters upset because no one paid attention to them. They weren't villains, and didn't have any of the powers that a lot of the regular Overtakers—namely Maleficent—possess. Trust me, that was _nothing_."

"Lovely." Holly muttered dryly.

"Anyway," Philby continued. "He said we need to keep our eyes open—that the Overtakers will be planning more attacks."

"Anything else?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, he told me to make sure we all cross over tonight. He'll meet us in the apartment." Philby looked at Holly. "We'll fill you in tomorrow." He promised her.

"'Kay." She said with a yawn. "I'm tired."

"You're _always_ tired." Charlene pointed out.

"Yes." Holly agreed, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "It's amazing how insomnia does that to you. 'Course, I feel fine at night. Its just now that I'm about to faint." She stood up. "Bye, guys." She yawned again. "See you tomorrow…except you, Charlene…obviously, we're sisters… Did I mention I'm tired?" Willa laughed as Holly left the building, almost colliding with a couple in front of her.

"Your sister is weird." She said.

"Tell me about it." Charlene muttered.

~.~

Cinderella's Castle glowed in the night, illuminating the area around it. In front of it was a bronze statue, showing Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands, waving to an imaginary crowd. It was the center of the Magic Kingdom. From there, four pathways sprung out, each leading to a different land—Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Liberty Square, and Fantasyland. From a bird's eye view, the pathways looked like spokes on a wheel.

Jess climbed up the tricky and confusing stairwells in Escher's Keep, the entrance to Walt's apartment. She had only used it a few times, and it had taken her several tries to reach. No doubt the others were already there.

She held the piece of notebook paper to her chest as if her life depended on it. What it contained confused her. She hoped that whatever Wayne was about to tell them would clear it up.

As she opened the door, she felt seven heads turn towards her. Being a Fairlie, she had never loved attention, even when it was from people she knew. "Hey." Amanda said when she saw her. Jess said hi back, and sat down on the floor next to everyone else. Wayne stood in front of them, looking solemn. He looked even older then when she last saw him, over a year ago. It was amazing that someone could age so much in so little time. No wonder Wanda was so worried about him.

"Children," Wayne began, and then stopped himself. "Well, that's not true anymore. You all have grown up a lot since the last time we met face to face." The way he talked reminded Jess of a relative greeting their family. It seemed so _normal_. But Jess knew that he was only trying to ease the tension. Whatever he was about to tell them must've been important, if he was willing to risk going here. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"The Overtakers." Finn stated. "What are they up to?"

"Good question." Wayne said. He turned his towards her. "Jessica," He said. "Can you give me that drawing of yours?" Jess nodded a handed it over, wondering silently to herself how Wayne knew what it was. Not that she was surprised—Wayne knew a lot of things he shouldn't have. He flipped the paper over, so the other could see. Once again, Jess saw the picture that had been haunting her the entire day. In the picture, Maleficent was holding a cone-shaped hat decorated with stars and a crescent moon. It appeared to be glowing, lighting up the fairy's face. Maleficent had a gleeful expression on her face. Whatever she was happy about meant trouble for the Keepers. Behind her, a teenage boy was running towards her, his outstretched as if trying to grab something—_Philby_. He had a pained expression on his face. In the background a girl in pigtails was staring at a lump on ground. Her mouth was open, a shocked expression on her face. Jess couldn't tell exactly whom it was—Charlene, most likely, based on the nightgown the girl was wearing. It was hard to tell in the sketch, but Jess could've sworn the girl was crying. It was impossible to tell exactly where they were—the background was blurry and faded, as if someone had smudged it.

There was silence for a few moments. Finally, Philby spoke: "What is Maleficent holding?" Wayne raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you recognize it?" Based on Philby's facial expression, he _did_ recognize it.

"It's the magical hat—the one that Mickey Mouse used in the Sorcerer's Apprentice." Philby told him. Wayne nodded.

"I'm afraid it is." He replied with a sigh. "The Sorcerer's hat, originally owned by the sorcerer Yen Sid, is an object of immense power. The user could do virtually anything they wanted to with it. It is a very tempting object, as shown in _Fantasia_ when Mickey borrows it for his own selfish needs. It is not something you want falling in the wrong hands."

"Wait a second." Charlene cut in. "The way you talk about it…the Sorcerer's Hat is _real_?"

Wayne nodded. "Of course." He said. "Like the Disney characters themselves, the hat came into existence when the people began to believe in it."

"And Maleficent has it." Willa stated.

"Not quite." Wayne corrected. "I have reason to believe that she has not yet acquired it—and that she is looking for it currently."

"So you want us to protect us?" Maybeck asked. "Where _is_ it?"

"Ah, but that is the problem." Wayne explained. "No one knows."

"Why not?" Charlene asked. "You have a huge, powerful object, and no one even keeps track of it?"

"We used to." Wayne answered. "You see, Disney characters and objects can only stay inside Disney land. If not, they start dying. Originally, everything stayed in Disneyland in California. But it soon got crowded, and once the Disney Company began to enlarge throughout the world, the other characters migrated to other areas. It was the first time this happened that the hat disappeared. Forty years ago, the Magic Kingdom—the very park you are standing in now—opened. The hat was brought here by Immagineers. They kept it for four years, constantly checking on it to make sure it hadn't been lost. Then, in 1975, the Disney villains—the ones we now call the Overtakers—began showing dismay. We then realized their plan for power, and we knew that the hat must be hidden. So two Imagineers were picked to find a location. Only they knew of the hat's existence. So when they died, the hat vanished from view."

"And you're saying you had no way of finding it?" Philby asked. "No one thought that this might happen?" Wayne smiled.

"It did occur to a few of us." He answered. "So we asked the Imagineers to give us a way of finding it, should something happen."

"So where is it?" Maybeck repeated, confused.

Wayne sighed. "I was hoping you seven—or eight, if Holly is willing to help—would help me answer that. The Imagineers gave us a riddle, but I'm afraid I can't make sense of it."

"A riddle." Maybeck repeated incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Maybe we should listen to it first before shooting it down." Charlene suggested looking pointedly at Maybeck.

Philby nodded in agreement. "What's the riddle?" He asked Wayne. Wayne took a deep breath, remembering the words that his coworkers had spoken to him so many years before.

"_The second state's independence _

_Is where you first location lies_

_In the land where America revisits its past_

_Ever changing, the 38 call out their names_

_Two years the list will be revised_

_Find this place, and here you will find_

_The next clue to your journey."_

Philby frowned. "The second state is Pennsylvania." He said. "What's that got to do with Disney?"

"'The land where America revisits its past.'" Willa repeated to herself. "Maybe they mean Liberty Square?" She suggested. "Is there anything in Liberty Square—like a replica of something—that was originally in Pennsylvania?"

"The Liberty Bell." Philby said. "That would explain the part about Independence."

"So the clue is at the Liberty Bell replica?" Finn asked, looking at Wayne.

"I have looked there." He answered. "I didn't find anything, but that doesn't mean that you will not."

"So should we go there?" Jess asked.

"I wouldn't hurt." Philby said.

"Wait a second." Charlene cut in. "What about the rest of the poem? 38 people calling out their names? There aren't 38 bells." She pointed out.

"Not to mention that bells don't talk." Maybeck added. Charlene frowned, as if recalling a bad memory.

"That's what you think." She muttered darkly.

"Okay then," Maybeck continued after giving her a 'whatever you say, crazy lady'–type glance. "So we're looking for something in Liberty Square that changes constantly and currently has 38 of something."

"Maybe it's not _constantly_ changing." Amanda suggested, biting her lip. "Didn't it say something like 'the list will be revised in two years'?"

Finn looked at Wayne. "You know what it is, don't you?" He asked. Wayne nodded.

"I have a theory or two." He admitted. "Remember, this was written in 1975. What specific events happened two years later, in 1977, that would revise this so-called list? What happened in 1977 that had to do with liberty?" Philby's eyes widened in realization. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and started typing something on it.

"The presidential election." He breathed a minute later. "There was an election in 1977. That's when Jimmy Carter got elected. Before, there were only 38 presidents total."

"So?" Maybeck asked. "What does Jimmy Carter have to do with Disney World?"

"The Hall of Presidents." Willa said suddenly. "That's what the riddle's referring to—the building was based off of the Independence Hall in Philadelphia."

"What's the Hall of Presidents?" Maybeck asked, confused.

"It's an attraction in Liberty Square." Willa explained. "You watch a movie about U.S. history and then it shows a bunch AAs shaped like the different presidents. I saw it a few years ago. They update it whenever a new president is elected."

"Yeah," Charlene agreed, nodding. "You've honestly never heard of it?"

"I get enough of history in school." Maybeck grumbled. "Why would I want to learn more on vacation?" Charlene rolled her eyes at him.

"So should we go tonight?" Jess asked Finn. Finn, in return, looked at Wayne.

The old man shrugged. "It's up to you—I failed this quest many years ago. My turn is over, I'm afraid."

"Well, only two or three of us need to go." Finn said, thinking. "I don't see why we can't go now. Maybe—" Whatever he was about to say was drowned out by a large _CRASH_! He—as well as many of the others—jumped.

"What was that?" Willa exclaimed.

Wayne frowned. He stood up and walked towards the narrow window in the far wall. Peering through the glass, he told them, "A message from the Overtakers."

"What?" Finn ran next to him and looked out the window himself. Bellow, someone had used something—either chalk or paint, by the looks of it—to write out a single word: _Beware_.

"You must leave." Wayne told them, stepping away from the window. "It's too late tonight to get anything done, anyway." He took something out of his pocket—the Return. "Go to Liberty Square tomorrow evening. Hopefully, you will find the next clue there. I wish I could help you, but like I said earlier—I've had my chance. It's up to you."

"You—you can't help us?" Charlene asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Wayne shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. I must go back into hiding. I only left today because I needed to tell you about the Sorcerer's hat. Now that I've done that, I must return."

"Will we see you again?" Finn asked.

"Possibly," Wayne answered. "But if you do, it will not be for a good reason. If you're lucky, the next time you will see me is when you've acquired the hat." With that, he raised his hand and pushed the button.


	3. Chapter Two: In the Hall of Presidents

_Author's Note: Hello again! Hope you guys had a happy Thanksgiving. Any of you guys go to the mall for Black Friday? Thank you for the review! Here's the next chapter..._

_Feel free to tell me any grammar and/or spelling mistakes I made._

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

The Turner household was home to three different cats. The youngest one was a fluffy and quite hyper Maine Coon by the name of Jade. Her eyes were green, as her name suggested. She had light orange fur that was spotted with gray and white. There was a ring of gray around her left eye—Holly nicknamed her "Smudge" after it. Jade woke up every morning at five o'clock A.M. and raced around the house until she found someone to play with. If no one was awake, she took it upon herself to wake him or her up.

"Jade, stop it." Holly mumbled tossing and turning in her bed.

"Jade?" A voice cried out indignantly. "Do I honestly look like a cat to you?"

"Charlene?" Holly opened her eyes. Sure enough, her older stood in front of her. Holly glanced at the clock. "It's three in the morning!" Holly moaned. "Why did you wake me up _now_?"

"I just crossed back over." Charlene explained. "I need to talk to you!"

"Now?" Holly asked, annoyance clear in her tone. "You can't wait a few hours?"

"Yes, now!" Charlene answered. "If I wait, I'll forget something."

"But I'm half asleep." Holly complained. "It's not like I'm going to remember anything you say anyway." She shifted her position and closed her eyes. "And there's nothing you can say to convince me otherwise."

"Mickey's Sorcerer's hat is real." Charlene told her. "And the Overtakers sent us a chalk message of doom."

"_What_?"

"Now will you listen to me?" She waited for Holly to get up out of her bed.

"Fine." Her younger sister said at last. "But be quick about it."

~.~

Holly waited for her mother to finish eating. She and Charlene had already finished their dinner—spaghetti and meatballs—and all she needed was the correct moment to ask.

"Well," Her mother said finally. "That was good, wasn't it?" Holly nodded, deciding not to point out that her mother had cooked the dinner, and that her praise was, in a way, bragging. That would just piss her off. Her mother stood up and pushed her chair in. "Who's going to help me with the dishes?"

"I will." Holly offered. Seeing her mother's expression, she said, "What? I already finished my homework. And you're going to make me do it anyway…" Charlene quickly excused herself, and Holly began carrying dishes to the sink.

Once everything had been put in the dishwasher, her mother asked, "What do you want?" Holly looked up at her, surprised.

"What?"

Her mother let out a very unladylike snort. "I know you, Holly Noëlle. You wouldn't offer to do chores unless you got something out of it."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Holly asked. "Aren't you the one always telling us not to assume the worst about people?" When it was clear her mother wasn't going to be convinced otherwise, Holly admitted, "Okay, fine. I wanted to know if I could go to the Magic Kingdom for a couple hours." When her mother looked ready to argue, she said, "_Maman_, it's a Friday. Like I said, I finished my homework and I want a break. I won't stay to long, I promise."

After thinking it over in her head, her mother relented. "I guess so." She sighed. "Just don't cause trouble." Holly could tell from the tone of her voice that _don't cause trouble_ meant the same thing as _don't do anything Kingdom Keepers-related_.

"Thank you!" Holly ran to her room and picked up one of her bags.

"And remember," Her mother called after her. "I will notice if anyone in this house goes to sleep _unusually early_ this evening."

Translation: Don't think I don't know what you're up to. And you _will_ be punished if I catch you.

~.~

As the sun set on the Magic Kingdom, a different crowd of people dominated the park: the big families with small children left, and more teenagers and young adults arrived. Less frequent were the baby carriages, and more were loud, sometimes hyper teens who spent hours on and around the biggest thrill rides.

Liberty Square was mostly empty by this time. There were a few brave souls queuing at the Haunted Mansion, but the Hall of Presidents was a ghost town. Philby stood near the front, a baseball cap cover his bright red hair. He hadn't gotten time to get permission to go (though he doubted his parents would have given it if he had asked), so he did his best to blend in and not try to look too nervous. He hated breaking rules, even though he had already many times, thanks to the Kingdom Keepers. He scanned the crowd for Willa or Holly. The three of them had been picked because they knew the most about history—though, if Holly knew _American_ history, he wasn't sure.

"'Lo, ginger." Philby jumped. Standing behind him was none other then Holly herself.

"Don't call me a ginger." He snapped. He was so tired of people making fun of it for that.

"Sorry." Holly shrugged, though she didn't sound all that apologetic. "Just wanted to get your attention without shouting your name. I thought you didn't want people knowing who you are?"

"There are other ways of accomplishing that." Mumbled Philby. "You sound like Maybeck." Holly blinked in surprise, then glared at him, looking affronted. Philby knew why, and immediately felt awful: Holly and Maybeck were oddly similar in personality, and couldn't stand to be in the same room as the other because of it. Philby doubted that they actually hated each other—they just had trouble getting along.

"Yeah, well—"

"Hey, guys!" _Thank God for Willa_. "Is anyone else here?" She asked, looking around. Holly shrugged again, and Philby shook his head.

Holly appeared to have calmed down. "Guess we should go in." She said.

~.~

In the pre-show area, a rotunda displaying various artifacts relating to the White House and the presidents, about ten other people milled around aimlessly while waiting for the show to start. A few minutes after the teens entered, a cast member opened the door to the theatre. Willa made a move to leave the room, but Holly held her back.

Confused, Willa watched Holly walk to the cast member. "Hi," Holly greeted to the woman. "My friends and I just got here, and we didn't get a chance to look at the displays. See, we're doing a presentation on different presidents for History, and we'd really like to see them." She explained. She took a notebook and pen out of her bag as if to prove her point. "So I was wondering—when's the next show? _Is_ there a next show? Personally, I'd prefer to wait and look around now."

"The next one is in approximately thirty minutes." The female cast member answered. "Are you sure you want to wait that long?" Holly nodded.

"Thirty minutes would be _perfect_, honestly." She grinned. When she was smiling, it was much easier to see the resemblance between her and Charlene. "Don't worry, we won't light the room on fire." The cast member glanced at Willa and Philby, who were standing several paces from the door.

"Okay." The woman answered, and closed the door behind her.

"What was that for?" Philby asked.

"Yeah," Willa agreed, still confused. "Aren't we supposed to see the film?"

"Not necessarily." Holly answered. "The riddle was referring to the building, not the film. Think about it—why would they put it in the theatre, where it's too dark to see anything? I know they don't want the guests to find it, but they had to let us find it! That's the whole point, isn't it?" She looked around the room. "Plus, this way we have the room to ourselves for at least twenty minutes. No one will be suspicious of us this way. And if it turns out I'm wrong, then we'll just go to the next show. Make sense."

"Yeah," Philby admitted and Willa nodded in response. It _was_ a pretty good plan. Holly ripped two papers out of her notebook and handed one to each of them she grabbed two more pens out of her bag and handed them out.

"Write down the riddle—or whatever it is we're looking for—on the paper when you see it." She told them, and then drifted to one of the display cases. She ran her fingers down the dark wood, as if looking for some type of engraving.

"Wait a second." Philby said. Holly turned around to look at him. "This whole scavenger hunt was created in 1975. This building has been updated tons of times since then."

"The rotunda?" Holly interrupted. "I thought they just added more AAs."

"No, they've updated everything." Willa said. "I looked this place up on Wikipedia. Sure, they update the AAs every four years, but they've totally renovated the building since it opened. The video has changed, the voices, the narrator—everything. They've had two major renovations, one in 1993 and the other in 2009. In '09, they added new displays." She gestured towards the cases holding the first ladies' dresses.

"Exactly," Philby continued. "If they've added new displays since 1975, then—"

"We should look at older ones." Holly finished, nodding.

"Yeah. What's in the case behind you?" Holly turned around, and squinted at one of the descriptions. She read aloud:

"'George W. Bush's inaugural cowboy boots.'" Holly raised an eyebrow. "That's really…"

"Cool!" Willa interjected. Holly looked at her as if she was from a foreign planet.

"I was going to say random, but yeah, 'cool' works too." She moved to the next case, and Philby and Willa moved to different ones. After fifteen minutes without success, Willa cried out from the other side of the room, "Found it!" She scribbled something on her paper furiously, propping it against the side of the case as Philby and Holly ran to her.

"Where is it?" Holly asked her, cocking her head to the side. The display didn't look any different then the rest of them. Willa pointed to the ride side of the wooden box. She grabbed Philby's hand, startling him, and placed it on a section of the wood.

"Feel it." Willa commanded. He did as told, and his eyes widened.

"It's engraved." He realized. Lines of words were carved into the wood in fancy letters. It was written towards the bottom. No one would have noticed it unless specifically looking for it. Willa nodded, grinning from ear to ear. She gave the notebook paper to Holly. Holly read it over and over in her head, trying to make sense of it.

"What does it say?" Philby asked her. Holly read it aloud:

"_Green grass dances with the wind_

_Red roses, yellow sunflowers abundant_

_At the end of the valley, the flowers suddenly rescind_

_No way to describe nature's work, so brilliant_

_Days pass with changing_

_Pictured view stays the same_

_Rising sun heating_

_Indigo nights tame_

_Xanthium waves goodbye"_

"So…" Philby started.

"It's a poem." Holly said. "Not a riddle, like the last time. An ABAB poem, actually."

"A what?" Philby questioned.

"A poem where lines one and three rhyme together, and two and four rhyme." Holly explained. "The last line doesn't rhyme with anything, though. I wonder why they did that." She wondered.

"Can I see that?" Philby asked as a gust of wind brushed by.

"Sure." Holly replied, reaching the notebook paper towards him. Philby was about to grab it when a large dog jumped up between them. It grabbed the paper with its mouth. "Hey!" Holly yelped. At that same moment, the female cast member walked back into the room.

"What the…?" She looked at the dog, then at the teenagers. "Is that yours?" She asked. Willa shook her head.

"It just ran in here!" Willa exclaimed. "It grabbed one of our papers!" The woman tried to get the notebook paper out of the dog's mouth, but it ran out the door before she could.

"I'm sorry about that." The woman apologized. "That's never happened before!"

"It's okay." Willa said. "Really."

"Was that your notes in its mouth?" The woman asked. Holly nodded.

"Yeah, but its okay." Holly told her. "We got the information we needed without it."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in here a few more minutes?" The woman asked. Philby was about to open his mouth to say yes, when Holly stepped on his foot.

"Not necessary." She said. "Can we watch the film now?" The woman told them yes, and opened the theatre doors. They walked in, and sat down in the middle row. The lights dimmed and the movie began. Holly took out her notebook and began writing something down.

"Are you taking _notes_?" Philby asked her, surprised.

"Of course I am." Holly whispered back. "We're here to learn thing for our history project, remember? Wouldn't it be weird if we _didn't_ take notes?" Whether what she was writing actually related to the video or not, Philby didn't know.

"That dog was from the Overtakers." He told her. Willa turned towards them, listening. "It can't be coincidence, it just can't be."

"I know." Holly replied.

"Why did tell the lady that we got what we needed?" He demanded. "We need to find that poem again!"

"No, we don't." Holly responded.

"Oh, really?" He asked. "So what, you have it memorized?" Holly grinned and tilted the paper towards him. Even with the lighting, he could just barely make out the words: it was the lines from the poem, recited perfectly in Holly's loopy handwriting.

"Shh…" She shushed him, putting a finger on her lips. "It's rude to talk during a movie."

~.~

"You _memorized_ that?" Willa asked after the three of them had left Liberty Square. "_How_?"

"I don't know," Holly admitted. "It's just been something I've always been able to do. If it rhymes, I can remember it. I don't know why."

"Well, you're awesome." Willa told her.

"Thanks." Holly said, smiling. She leaned against the wall of the girls' bathroom. She took the now wrinkled notebook paper out of her pocket and skimmed it. "Any ideas on what it means?"

"No." Willa frowned. "I can't think of anything in Disney that sounds like that. It doesn't make any sense. It's like they didn't even care about the words, they just wanted to make a poem to confuse us." Holly thought about that.

"Maybe the words aren't important." She suggested. "Do you remember anything odd about the carving? Maybe something around it?" Willa thought hard, trying to remember what it looked like.

"The capital letters were bigger then the rest of the poem." She remembered. "They were really fancy, too."

"Which words were capitalized?" Holly questioned. "Was it just the first letter of the first word on each line, or were there others?"

"No, I think it was just the first letter of each line." Willa answered. "Hmm…" An idea popped into her head. "Can I see that?" She asked, and Holly handed the paper to her. Willa traced her fingers along the first letter of each line, which Holly had also capitalized when she rewrote it. "Give me a pen." She commanded, and Holly handed her one. Under the poem, in big letters, she wrote the capitalized letters down.

**GRANDPRIX**

**G R A N D P R I X**

**GRAND PRIX**

"Grand Prix…" Willa mumbled. Holly looked over her shoulder to see what she had written. "I wonder what that means."

"Grand Prize." Holly answered. "It's French." Willa rolled her eyes.

"Not what I meant." She sighed. "More riddles and confusion for us. Well, regardless, we should show Philby."

~.~

"Grand Prix." Philby said, typing something into his phone.

"What came up?" Willa asked him.

"Tons of stuff." Philby answered frustrated. "A lot of competitions are named Grand Prix—Chess, Equestrianism, Racing, Combat sports…"

"What?" Holly asked.

"Combat sports." Philby answered.

"No, before that." She said. "Did you say racing?"

"Yeah." He said. "You think the poem was talking about the Tomorrowland Speedway?"

"It's possible." Willa said. "Try looking it up on Wikipedia." Philby did so, and scrolled down until he reached the part about the Florida attraction.

"You're right." He said to Holly. "It was one of the original rides. Its name has changed a lot since then. In 1975, it was called the Grand Prix raceway." Holly's phone buzzed. She took it out of her bag.

"My mom." She explained to them. "I've got to go, sorry. _Au revoir, mon amis_."

"Well," Willa said after she left. "At least we know where to go next." She smiled, but Philby wasn't as cheerful. He thought about the dog from the Hall of Presidents.

"Yeah," He agreed. "But so do the Overtakers."


	4. Chapter Three: On the tracks

_Author's Note: Hi again! Thanks for the reviews, and feel free to give me feedback!_

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

"Hey," Charlene greeted as her sister entered the kitchen.

Her mother smiled. "_Bonjour, ma petite puce_." She greeted, giving her younger daughter a hug. "It's nine thirty, and your sister has yet to fall asleep. I'll give you the benefit of doubt and assume you went for fun."

"Of course I did." Holly said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Where did you go?" Her mother asked her.

"Hall of Presidents." Holly answered. "Learned about some good, old-fashioned history." Her mother laughed.

"Honestly, _mon chaton_, you don't have to lie to me." Her mother told her. "I understand teenagers better then you think. Seriously, where _did_ you go?"

Charlene had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing.

~.~

Jess woke up on the grass near the Emporium. As she got up, she saw her sister run towards her. "Hey," Jess greeted. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"Finn's not here yet." Amanda answered. "What took you so long?" Amanda had crossed over twenty minutes earlier.

"I was held back by the-roommate-who-shall-not-be-named." Jess answered, making a face. "'Jess, c'mon!'" She whined, doing an almost perfect imitation of their roommate, Jeannie. "'You have to do laundry tonight. Everyone else does, it's not fair if you don't. Do you _want_ me to get Mrs. Nash?'" Amanda rolled her eyes.

"Not surprised." She said. "C'mon, let's go."

"Where are we going, again?" Jess asked.

"Tomorrowland Speedway. According to Philby, that's where we'll find the next clue."

~.~

They met up with Finn ten minutes later. He woke up next to the Partners Statue and found them by the Tomorrowland entrance. The three of them made their way to the racetrack.

Tomorrowland Speedway, formerly called Grand Prix Raceway and Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, was large racetrack, 2112 feet in length. Shiny, multi-colored cars were parked by the loading area. To the side of them was a big electronic scoreboard. During the day, it would keep track of which cars were in the lead. At the moment it was turned off like the rest of the ride.

"Where should we look?" Amanda wondered out loud. She turned to Jess. "Did the others mention where they found the clue? Like, was it in the theatre or around the building?" Jess shook her head.

"Nope, they just told us to go here."

They climbed down the stairs to the racetrack. Finn took the lead, while the girls held back. Amanda wandered around, carefully avoiding the metal guide rails that steered the cars around.

"So," Amanda began after a few minutes of silence. "We're supposed to search this ride until we find a clue."

"Yep." Jess answered.

"With no indication of where to look or how to find it." Amanda continued.

"Uh-huh."

"We also have no idea of how long this could take us. For all we know, we'll be searching here all night." She pointed out.

"Pretty much."

"And even when find this clue, whatever it is, it could take us hours trying to decipher it." Amanda stated.

"Basically."

"This sucks." Amanda said with a sigh.

"Tell me about it."

~.~

"What time is it?" Adam, the youngest of Willa's three older brothers asked her again.

"12:56." Willa answered with a yawn. "There's a clock right over there." She pointed to the digital clock on the oven next to her.

"Thanks, sis." Adam answered, completely ignoring the last part.

"What are you waiting for?" Willa questioned, suspicious. Adam had been asking her about the time for the last twenty minutes. Adam grinned.

"That's none of your concern, little sister." He told her. Willa groaned. She didn't know what he was up to, but it definitely wasn't something good.

"Whatever." She told him, and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"Aw," Adam cooed. "Is little Willa off to dream in Disney?"

"Oh, shut up." She muttered. When Adam had found out about the DHIs crossing over, he didn't believe it at first. And once he did, he thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Willa couldn't blame him-the idea of a bunch of kids fighting fairytale characters for the fate of Walt Disney World did sound pretty ridiculous. Willa would have laughed at it too, if she hadn't experienced it herself and knew just how dangerous it was. Still, she wished he wouldn't tease her about it so much. "For your information, I haven't crossed over in months."

"But you went today, didn't you?" Adam asked. "When you told mom you were going to the park." Willa's eyes widen. How did Adam know that?

He laughed as if he had read her mind. "Your such a bad liar, Wills."

"So does mom know?" She asked, biting her lip.

"She knew you weren't telling the truth." Adam answered. "I don't think she knew where you went."

"Well, good." Willa said. "Because her finding out would be very, very bad." She narrowed her eyes at her brother. "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

"Me?" Adam asked. "Nah, I won't. But don't expect me to cover for you if you get in trouble."

"I'm not going to get into trouble." Willa insisted, though she didn't really believe it. They were pretty much asking for trouble, running around the Magic Kingdom searching for clues. She was surprised they hadn't been attacked back in

Liberty Square. Sure, there was the dog, but it's only goal had been to steal from them, not hurt them. It wasn't like the Overtakers, and it put her on edge thinking about it.

"If you say so." Adam replied, looking just as unconvinced as she was.

~.~

"What time is it?" Jess asked. Finn looked at his watch.

"1:08." He answered. Jess sighed.

"Shouldn't by now something have happened?" She asked. "Usually, the second we enter a ride, all hell brakes loose."

"Do you really _want_ that to happen?" Amanda questioned.

"I don't know." Jess answered with a shrug. "It's just weird, is all. It seems so easy."

"Not really." Finn disagreed. "We still haven't found what we're looking for."

"Um... What exactly _are_ we looking for again?" Jess asked. "I know it's a clue, but how do we even know it's still here? I mean, after thirty years no one found it? No one wondered what exactly what it was and ever thought about moving it? We were lucky the first time, but how do we know we're not hitting a dead end looking here? How do we know this isn't just a wild goose chase?"

"We don't." Finn answered. "But we really don't have a choice at the moment. We have to try." Jess sighed. She knew he was right.

~.~

Holly couldn't sleep. Not that that hadn't happened before. Insomnia had been a problem for her for years. Usually, she could lie in bed and think until she got tired. She thought about lots of random things—stuff that had happened at school, people she knew, memories she had. The last one was the rarest—she was very forgetful. Most of her memories happened after second grade. The ones before that were extremely fuzzy, mostly just snapshots in her head. It used to annoy her, but she had gotten used to it.

Tonight, however, she was restless. She climbed out of bed and, as quietly as she could, crept out of her room. Her parents didn't let her wander around at night. If they caught her in the act, they would send her straight back to her room, usually making her put back whatever food she had stolen from the fridge.

She felt her way through the dark hallway while her eyes adjusted.

She reached the Family Room and sat down on one of the brown couches. She stared at the coffee table next to her. There was something furry on it...

"Hey, Smudge." Holly greeted, scratching Jade's chin. The kitten purred in response. "Must be lonely, being the only one awake." Jade mewed and climbed onto Holly's lap. She lay down and rolled on her back. Holly pet her absent-mindedly.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Holly turned her head around. Jade looked up as well, curious.

"It's one in the morning, Holly." Her father informed her.

"I'm not tired." Holly argued. To her surprise, her father nodded.

"I'm not either." He agreed.

"So... Are you going to send me to bed?" Holly asked. Her father shook his head.

"It's Friday." He said with a shrug. "Well, technically, it's Saturday now. But you're not going to school tomorrow, so I'm not worried." He sat down on the couch beside her and picked up Jade from out of Holly's lap. "So, what's going on in your life? Anything interesting?" An idea formed in Holly's mind. It probably wasn't the smartest...but she had to try it.

"Not really." She lied. "Today, during lunch, my friends and I were talking about the Magic Kingdom."

"Where you went this afternoon?" She nodded.

"Yeah. We all agreed it was our favorite of the parks. Someone mentioned how they loved Stitch's Great Escape, but said there was something there before it, a couple years ago. An alien thing."

"Yeah, I remember that." Her father told her. "It was pretty much the same thing, but not as kid friendly. One if the reasons why I never took you or Charlene on the ride was because I was afraid you would get scared." He looked at her. "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, I was just curious." She answered, shrugging. "I was wondering... If that's changed, what else has?"

"Tons of things." Her father answered. "I didn't move to Florida until after your mom and I got married, and that was about twenty years ago. The park's been open twice as long, so I don't know everything that happened. A lot of it was just updating current rides. I remember when they closed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... It wasn't the most popular decision."

"When did they close it?" Holly asked. She hadn't remembered the ride being open when she was there.

"Late 90s." He replied. "You would've been about two years old. It's Winnie the Pooh, now."

"What was it about?"

"Disney made a movie based on a book... _The Wind in the Willows_, I believe it was called. A British story. Well, the ride was based off of one of the characters, Mr. Toad. I don't remember it very well... I only went on it a few times." Holly yawned and stood up.

"Thanks." She said and hugged him. "'Night." She left the room, Jade trailing behind her.

~.~

"I think I found something." Jess said. Bellow her feet, on the black pavement; a narrow rectangle was formed in the asphalt. It reminded her of the wooden panels in her room at the Nash House. The panels could easily be lifted up, revealing a small space to hide things in. It gave her an idea...

She ran her fingers around the edges of the rectangle, searching for a place to lift it up.

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked when she and Finn had reached her.

"Trying to pull this up." Jess answered. "Help, please?" The two bent down and helped her. Just as Amanda managed to start lifting the piece, Jess let go, surprising her. Jess closed her eyes. "Vision..." She murmured as an explanation, trying to concentrate. "Need something to write with." Amanda's eyes widened. She hadn't brought anything with her when she had crossed over.

She hadn't thought about Jess's visions. She glanced at Finn, but he shook his head—he didn't have anything either.

"Amanda." Jess warned. "I'm... I'm going to loose it."

"Just try to remember." Amanda said to her. "You'll get the vision again later." Jess nodded and opened her eyes. She resumed in picking up the rectangle. Amanda and Finn joined in again, and the three of them finally managed to pry it off.

Sure enough, there was a hole underneath it, an old book resting in the dirt. Finn picked it up.

"_'The Wind in the Willows_ by Kenneth Grahame.'" He read. "What's this got to do with Disney?"

"Why don't you tell us?" A deep voice said from behind. Startled, the three teens turned around to see five pirates standing behind them. A tall one with a red costume stood closest to them. He was the one who had spoken them, and was currently pointing a finger at Jess.

"How did you know to come here?" She demanded. The pirate laughed.

"What, didn't think we'd figure out that stupid poem simply because it was outdated?" He asked, rolling his eyes. "We're older then all of you stupid kids. If someone's going to have trouble with this race, it's you three." He glanced at the book in Finn's hand. Finn backed away instinctively, hiding the cover from view. "Oh, don't bother." The pirate told him, still looking at the book. "We've already got all of the information that we need." He looked up at the teens. "We were only ordered to get the next clue." He informed them. "We could leave after that if we wanted to. But why, when we had such a great opportunity to get rid of a few... What do you call yourselves? 'Keepers'?" He laughed again. "No, I think we'll fight." He drew out his sword, and the other four pirates followed his lead. As they began to charge at the kids, the three DHIs turned around and ran away.

~.~

They reached the apartment ten minutes later, each of them gasping for air. Finn set the book on the table. "We'll talk tomorrow morning." He told the sisters.

"Come to the Frozen Marble at ten thirty." The girls nodded.

"What time is it?" Amanda asked, feeling like a broken record.

"2:11." Finn answered. "We should get back." He found the return and pushed the button.


	5. Chapter Four: Chasing Wild Geese

**A/N: I'm not too fond of this chapter. It was supposed to be a lot longer with more action, but it just didn't turn out that way. I'm warning you now, I have final exams coming up, so the next chapter won't be posted (or even written, for that matter) for at least two weeks. I will try to update a lot over Winter Break, though I can't promise anything. Thank you for the reviews. If there are any AVPM fans out there, see if you can catch the reference I made in this chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

Charlene was definitely what you would call a morning person. She loved waking up to see the sun rising through the large windows and glass doors by the patio on the east side of her house. She loved waking up to the smells of coffee and hot chocolate in the kitchen. She loved watching the morning news with her parents, even when she was little and didn't understand half of it. It was a tradition in the Turner house to have a Sunday brunch each weekend. Her mother would teach Charlene how to set the table correctly while she cooked the food—an assortment of eggs and cheese crêpes, bacon, and pancakes. Her mother was an excellent cook. She worked at a nearby restaurant as a cook, so her meals were always enjoyable. Her father, on the other hand, wasn't to be trusted with anything involving stoves or oven. He even burned microwavable meals on occasion, which is why both Charlene and Holly had learned to cook themselves at a young age.

Unfortunately, Sunday was tomorrow, so Charlene was by herself at six in morning, left to read a book or stretch, making sure not to wake anyone else.

The cats would sometimes wander into her room looking for attention. She didn't mind this—it was nice to have company, even if said company left fur balls on her comforter.

This morning, however, she wasn't alone. While skimming one of the _Twilight_ novels, she heard scratching noises outside her room. Curious, she got up and found Jade scratching the door of Holly's bedroom. Jade didn't like it when doors were closed, and would scratch them until someone opened it.

"Jade." Charlene shushed her. "There's a reason the door's closed. You're going to wake Holly." Jade ignored her. "Really." Frustrated, Charlene opened the door slightly—not enough to let Jade walk in, but enough that she could see the room inside. "See?" Charlene was about to point out that Holly was asleep on the bed, but to her surprise, her sister looked wide-awake, typing furiously on her Mac Book.

"Good Morning, sis." Charlene greeted, startling Holly. She looked up from the screen.

"Hey." She said. "C'mere, I have something to show you." Charlene opened the door all the way and walked to her sister, Jade running around the room behind her. Holly flipped the laptop around and pointed at the screen. A Word document was open, as well as various sights about Disney world. "I'm researching all of the Disney rides that have closed. I wrote down their names, the dates they closed, and what replaced it. There aren't too many; most of the changes that have happened were promotional events, like that Cinderella-bration thing that happened years ago."

"I remember that." Charlene said fondly. It was a celebration for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. There had been special parades and shows for it, and Charlene had loved it. "But why are you doing this?"

"Think about it—what if the Sorcerer's Hat was hidden in a ride that didn't exist anymore? Someone else must have known about it, and hid it somewhere in the ride that replaced it." Holly explained.

"And if it's in Toontown?" Charlene suggested. "That might be a bit problematic."

"I don't think it existed back then." Holly replied. "But I am worried. We have no way of knowing if this whole hunt is worth it. Not to mention that the Overtakers have a _way_ better advantage then we do—they've been here longer, know the park better, and can go wherever they please, _whenever_ they want to. No school for them."

"In other words, you're saying we're screwed." Charlene said. "Any optimism in this little pep talk of yours?"

"You guys can walk through solid objects." Holly said. "Even Fairlies can't do hat. Speaking of which, we've got the freaking Oracle of Delphi on our side."

"Who?" Charlene asked, nonplussed.

"_Jess_." Holly explained with an eye roll.

"That's not very nice, Holly." Charlene told her, frowning. Holly shrugged.

"Hey, I didn't mean it as an insult." She said. "I mean, the French government views me as some crazy arson. I'm not judging." She pressed the print button and closed her computer. "I'm going to give this to Finn. Hopefully they were successful last night." She stood up. "Well, I'm off. Have fun with your yoga, or whatever the hell people do at six thirty in the morning."

~.~

The doorbell rang.

"Honey, can you get that?" Finn's mother asked, busy cooking eggs. Finn nodded.

"Sure, mom." He walked to the front of the house and opened the door.

"Holly?" He said, surprised. She was carrying something—a folder, by the looks of it.

"My name hasn't changed since the last time you saw me." Holly responded sardonically. She handed the folder to him. She explained to him what she had to Charlene.

When she was finished, he nodded and said, "Yeah, I thought about that." He gave the folder back to her. "The three of us—Amanda, Jess, and I—are going to meet later and talk about the clues." He told her. "You should come."

"I don't know." Holly said worried. "Is it really a good idea for us to be talking about this in the open? What if someone overhears us? Forget the

Overtakers—_anyone_ listening in on our conversations could get us in to trouble."

"Relax." Finn said. "We'll be fine." Holly frowned.

"I don't know, Finn." She repeated. "Something about this...this quest... It just seems _wrong_. Like we're walking right into a trap." She sighed. Notebook in hand, she turned around and walked back down to the driveway, lost in thought.

~.~

When Amanda woke up, Jess was drawing. "Is it your vision from last night?" She whispered. Not that she really needed to-their busybody roommate, Jeannie, was downstairs eating breakfast. Jess nodded slightly, focused intently on her sketchpad. Amanda knew better then to disrupt her sister when she was having a vision.

Jess let out a loud, hacking cough. "I'm fine." She said to Amanda, though her sister didn't look very convinced. Jess was much paler then usual.

"Are you sure?" Amanda questioned. "I can get you some cough drops." Jess shook her head.

"Honestly, I'm fine." She insisted. Amanda sighed, knowing that Jess wouldn't change her mind, regardless of what Amanda said to her.

"Well, you shouldn't cross over tonight." Amanda decided.

"Whatever you say, _Mom_." Jess stuck her tongue out at her. "I need to finish this first."

Amanda decided to go downstairs and eat breakfast with the others. She checked the clock before she left.

"Don't trust her." Amanda heard Jess mumble from behind.

"Who?" Amanda glanced at her sister. Jess, however, didn't answer.

~.~

"_The Wind in the Willows_." Holly murmured, staring at the old book in her hands. She, Finn, and Amanda were sitting at one of the tables at the Frozen

Marble. Jess hadn't come; according to Amanda, she was sick. "It's talking about

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."

"Yeah, I figured." Finn said. "So, what now? Do we go to Winnie the Pooh?" Holly nodded.

"Most likely." She answered. "There's a picture in there—where Owl's house is—with Mr. Toad in it. It's sort of like a tribute to him. His friend—I believe his name is 'Moley'—is in another picture."

"So you think that's where the next clue is hidden?" Amanda questioned.

"It makes the most sense." Holly replied with a shrug. "You'll have to go at night, though—the ride goes way too fast for you to be searching in using one of the cars. It'll be much easier to go on foot after it's been turned off. Not to mention, of course, that the cast members won't be too kind to a bunch of teens messing around the park."

"Good point." Finn mumbled. Yeah, they had probably pissed off a few of the workers there during their previous adventures.

"Sorry I can't help you guys." Holly apologized. "The quest was probably designed so only people with access to Disney after hours could complete it."

"It's fine, you've helped us enough." Amanda insisted. A thought popped in her head. "I wonder how the original Imagineers intended the quest to be completed." She mused. "They probably didn't plan on teenagers being involved."

"No kidding." Holly said. "Especially the part about holograms—I can't wrap my head around that, and it's 2011." She sighed. "I probably should be going. Keep me updated!" Finn and Amanda nodded at her as she left. Finn noticed the sketchbook lying on the table.

"Jess's vision." He said. "Why didn't you mention it earlier?"

"I was going to," Amanda explained. "But then Holly mentioned that thing about not being able to help us, and it reminded me about what Jess said, and I'm _really_ confused now."

"Wait, what?" Finn said confused. "What did Jess say? What's in the drawing?"

"She said something about how I shouldn't trust someone—she didn't say who. I don't think she knows." Amanda replied. She opened the sketchbook to the most recently used page. "As for the drawing…" She pushed the book to Finn, who looked at it intently. In the drawing, Holly was holding a shovel full of dirt, aimed at the edge of the paper. It was drawn as if someone was looking up through a hole. There were black smudges on Holly's face—dirt, Finn guessed.

"It looks like she's digging a grave." Finn said without thinking. Amanda paled.

"I thought that too." She said. "But Jess said in her vision it seemed as if she was looking for something. Like she was digging for buried treasure."

"Weird." Finn commented. Amanda shrugged.

"It's not the first time she's done something bizarre." She pointed out. She had known Holly for a few months, and the girl had always puzzled Amanda. Nothing she did ever seemed to make sense. Sometimes Amanda got the feeling that Holly wasn't completely sane. "I should probably go soon." She said after a minute.

"Yeah, me too." Finn pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call Philby and tell him to cross us over again tonight."

~.~

"Elvis!" Elvis, Philby's cat, had just sat down on the keyboard of his laptop. Elvis loved warm places, and his computer was no exception. Philby didn't mind this too much, so long as he wasn't sitting on it while Philby was still using it. Unfortunately, Philby _had_ been using it at the moment.

Elvis meowed back, as if to say, _but I don't want to!_

"Come on," Philby said, trying to get his cat to move. "Get off my computer, Elvis." The cat simply meowed a response.

"Elvis!" Philby's mother poked her head through the door. "Dinner!" The cat hopped off the laptop and walked towards her. She looked at Philby. "Dinners almost ready, Dell. We'll eat in a few minutes." He nodded.

"Okay, mom." He turned back to his computer after his mother left. He had been trying to get into the DHI sever when his cat decided to take a nap. Finn had called him, telling him to cross them over.

Opening the browser, Philby typed in the password.

The words _INCORRECT PASSWORD _flashed on the screen.

"What the…?" He had typed in the same password he had been using for the past week. When had it changed? _Maybe I put it in wrong_, Philby wondered, though he doubted it. If he couldn't get on the server, it wasn't a coincidence.

He re-typed the password, this time being very careful. Once again, _INCORRECT PASSWORD _flashed on the screen. "Someone changed the password." He muttered to himself. There was no doubt about it—someone knew he had access to the server, and was trying to keep him out. Philby couldn't just guess the password. If he got it wrong one more time—and he would—he would be locked out for 24 hours. He had to go to the park himself and change it back.

"Dinner's ready!" He heard his mom shout. He didn't have time. He grabbed his phone and texted Finn, telling him what happened, and told him he would have to search for the clues while it was open.

~.~

Holly's phone buzzed. She picked it up, and read the text message that had just been sent.

**From: Finn**

**Hey, is there any chance you could come to the park around eleven? We could really use your help.**

_Eleven? _Holly wondered. What was going on? _Guess I'm about to find out._ She grabbed a jacket and her notebook and walked out the door, her decision made.

~.~

Like the night before, the crowd had already started to cease when Holly got there. Finn and Amanda had already arrived, making sure to keep their head down. She waved at them and made her way towards the Fantasyland Entrance where they were waiting. Finn was frowning, and Amanda was biting her lip.

"What wrong?" Holly asked, concerned.

"We have a, er, slight problem." Finn answered.

"Meaning…?"

"The ride's closed." Amanda explained.

"Winnie the Pooh?" Holly said, surprised. "They never close that ride."

"They did today." Finn said. "No explanation or anything. And of course, this happens right when we need to go there."

"So you're saying the Overtakers are involved." Holly said. Finn nodded.

"Pretty much."

"Well, I guess we have no choice but to go in anyway." Holly said.

"Are you kidding?" Amanda asked her, nonplussed. "They have people guarding the entrance. We'll never get in."

Holly shook her head. "I'm sure there's some way." Holly said. "And while I hate to quote Bieber, you shouldn't use words like 'never.' Not when there magic involved, anyway."

~.~

At the front of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, three cast members stood guard, watching the crowd, making sure that no one passed them. Behind them, a row of WET FLOOR signs blocked off the building. Every few minutes, someone would come to them and try to get in. Every time the cast members would tell them that the ride was closed, and would be open tomorrow.

"But we won't be here tomorrow!" Holly heard a young boy complain to his parents.

"It's okay, Michael, we can go back in a few months." His mother promised. She pulled him away towards the Dumbo rides, accidentally knocking into Holly in the process. "Oh, am so sorry." She apologized.

"It's fine." Holly shrugged it off. She looked at the Pooh ride, then at the boy. He was about seven. "Weird, huh? Normally they don't have cast members there, they just put up a sign."

"They look weird, too." The little boy complained. "One of them had a wooden leg. What's he supposed to be, a pirate?"

"Michael, that's rude." His mother scolded. Holly made her way to the workers, and, just like how the boy had described them, they looked exactly like pirates. Holly glanced at her surroundings before walking up to the man with the wooden leg.

"Hello." She greeted, feigning sweetness.

"Get lost." He glared at her.

"Shouldn't you be nice to the guests?" Holly asked. "You could get in trouble."

"As if." The pirate-in-disguise snorted. "My boss doesn't care for things like 'politeness' and 'respect.'"

"Boss?" Holly questioned. "What, you mean Chernabog?"

The pirate blinked, surprised at her question. After a moment, though, he regained his composure and continued glaring at her. "What makes you think something like that? Chernabog ain't real, kid."

"Oh, quit hiding it. I know all about the Overtakers." The pirate frowned.

"Then you should know not to mess with us." He told her menacingly. "Kids have tried to stop us in the past, and we defeated them in a second." _Hardly,_ Holly thought. She jerked her head to the right, pretending to see something.

"Hey, who's that over there?" She asked, pointing to the queue. He turned around and limped to the ropes, searching. As discreetly as she could manage, Holly focused on the pirate and aimed a spark of energy at him. It hit him hard, and he collapsed to the ground quietly. The other guards didn't notice.

Holly did the same to the others, making sure no one would see her doing it. Finally, after they were all knocked out, she texted Finn, telling him the coast was clear.

Amanda and Finn appeared a minute later. Finn stared at the collapsed pirates. "What did you do to them?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing bad." She dismissed. "Just got them out of the way." She scanned the crowd. "We should go in now, but be careful. The guests still think this ride is closed—seeing a bunch of teenagers milling around in it will just cause trouble."

Thankfully, the darkness made it easy to hide. They managed to get to the loading deck without incident. The honey (or, as the ride spelled it, "hunny") shaped cars lined up neatly next to the entrance of the first room. Holly examined the controls. "You guys go in one of the cars. Text me when you get to the paintings, and I'll stop it there for you." She told them.

"Can't you come with us?" Amanda asked.

"Nah, someone should stay here in case the pirates wake up again." Holly explained. "Just remember to search the paintings."

Amanda and Finn sat down in the first car. Holly pressed one of the controls and the car started up, moving through the ride and out of sight.

~.~

Amanda watched as the ride progressed through the Hundred Acre Woods. In the background, giant pages describing the scenes covered the walls. Animatronics of Pooh, Kanga, and Roo were shown, struggling through the heavy winds.

Finally, they approached Owl's house and Finn texted Holly. The ride jerked to stop, and the door of car unlocked. The two of them climbed out and searched the room. It didn't take very long to find the paintings Holly had described. Looking at one of them intently, Amanda carefully tugged at the top of the painting. She expected it to stay there, most likely glued to the wall. To her surprise, it came off easily and she set it down on the floor. She examined the wall, finding nothing.

"Look!" She heard Finn exclaim. She turned around. He turned the painting over, and pointed to a small **C** printed on the back. "Turn over the other one." He told her, and she did so. A **P** was written on the back of this one.

"Do you think that's it?" Amanda asked.

"Don't know." Finn admitted. "Where else would the letters be hidden?"

The two of them looked around the room for a few more minutes. Unlike the Toad paintings, the other portraits didn't budge. "We should get back." Amanda suggested. Finn nodded. He texted Holly, telling her about the letters they had found. They waited in the car, and after a few minutes, the ride resumed its course.

~.~

"What the hell is that?"

Back at the loading area, a large elephant-like creature was sniffing Holly curiously. It reminded Finn of the plush toys sold at the gift shops. Holly made sure to keep her distance from it. She turned off the controls and motioned for them to walk around the creature. It turned its gaze to Finn and shifted into a rug.

"How—?"

"It's a heffalump." Holly explained.

"What the hell is a heffalump?" Amanda asked confused.

"It's a character in Winnie the Pooh. They, along with the woozles, have their own room in that ride you just went on. Didn't you notice them?" Holly asked.

"I wasn't paying that much attention." Amanda said. "What exactly _is_ it, though?"

"It's a shape-shifter." Holly explained. "It likes whatever it is you covet, and tries to steal it from you. They have their own song. It's pretty awesome, to be honest."

"Well, hopefully, whatever we covet isn't here." Finn said. "We should get outside. The longer we stay in here, the more likely we are to get caught." The girls nodded in agreement. Doing their best to avoid the heffalump, the exited the ride and sat down on one of the benches outside.

"Any ideas on what it means?" Finn asked, referring to the letters on the paintings. "PC. It could stand for Pirates of the Caribbean."

"Or Prince Charming." Amanda suggested. "Like the carousel."

"Hiding something out in the open like that seems a little risky." Holly said to Amanda. "It could be the Pirate ride, but I think it might be talking about something else."

"Like what?" Finn asked.

"Pet Cemetery." Holly said. "You know, like the one by the Haunted Mansion?"

"Because of the animals?" Amanda asked. "Is there a toad grave there?" Holly nodded.

"Yeah, one that looks exactly like Mr. Toad." She said. "That message is way shorter then the others, and I'm willing to bet that the original wouldn't fit. So 'PC' is referring to where the Imagineers put the full one."

"Where would it be?" Finn asked. "Do the graves have inscriptions?"

"I think some of them do." Amanda answered, trying to remember. "But what if it doesn't? Where would the clue be hidden? What, are we suppose to dig it up or something?" Something popped into Amanda's mind. She remembered showing Finn Jess's drawing, and what he said to her. _It looks like she's digging a grave._

Amanda glanced at Holly. She wasn't serious, was she?

~.~

The Haunted Mansion, it turned out, was closed too.

"This can't be a coincidence." Finn muttered. Like Amanda, he thought of Jess's drawing.

The gate in front of the attraction was locked, blocking them from going into the building. The area around it was completely empty except for the three of them. Everyone else had left to go to other rides.

"How do we get in?" Holly asked. "You guys don't happen to know how to pick a lock, do you?"

"Amanda and I could cross over." Finn suggested. "I'm not sure how you'll get in."

"I could just stay here." Holly suggested.

"Maybe you won't have to." Amanda said suddenly. She pointed to a ring of keys a few feet away on the other side of the gate. "Whoever was here before was sloppy."

"No kidding." Finn said. Someone had left a shovel next to the queues. "This is _way_ to convenient. It's like the Overtakers want us to find the clue."

"Maybe they do." Amanda said. "Do we really have a choice, though?" Finn sighed.

"I guess not."

~.~

The three of them approached the Toad grave. Holly held the shovel in her hand.

"If this is his grave, does that mean he's dead?" Amanda asked.

"Of course he's dead." Holly said. "The original ride ended with him going to Hell."

"And this is a Disney ride?" Finn asked, raising his eyebrow.

"A very popular Disney ride."

Holly stepped in front of the grave. She looked at the others before sticking the shovel into the ground. She dug up the dirt until she felt the shovel hit something. Putting it on the ground, she searched the hole. A small brown box lay at the bottom.

Holly picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a small piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Amanda asked. Holly picked the paper up and read it in her head. She groaned.

"What?" Finn asked.

Holly read the note aloud:

"'_Awaits you on your quest are 999 happy haunts. Remember, there's always room for one more._'"

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! Happy Holidays!<strong>


	6. Chapter Five: A Haunting of Sorts

**Author's Note: Hiya! Sorry for the delay in updating, January's been a bad month for me. :( I've been having some trouble at school, someone in my family died a few weeks ago, and I got sick again (but I'm better now). I'm trying to update more often. My goal is to have this story completed before KK5 comes out. Speaking of which, they released the cover on FB! Ursula's on it! Yay!**

**Thank you G-L-I-M-M-E-R-ESSENCE for the review! I really appreciate it. :)**

**Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FIVE<strong>

It was disenchanting to say the least to see the Haunted Mansion shut down. Not only was the music and sound effects gone, but the building was brightly lit as well, effectively destroying the spooky atmosphere it was so well known for. Sure, it still had cobwebs and pictures of people turning into skeletons, but something about it just seemed…diminished.

The three teenagers entered the first hallway of the Mansion and walked into the "Stretching Room," an octagonal chamber decorated with portraits of what appeared to be pleasant, happy people. When the full painting was revealed, however, their gruesome fates were revealed, all seeming to be in some type of peril: three men caught in quick sand, a man sitting on a barrel of dynamite with the fuse lit, a young woman standing on a tightrope just above a crocodile, and an elderly woman resting on the gravestone of a man with a hatchet lodged into his skull.

As they continued towards the "dead center" of the room, a thought occurred to Amanda. "This is an elevator, right?" She asked. "If the ride is shut down, how are we supposed to get to the doom buggies?"

Finn shook his head. "Nah, it's only an elevator in California." He looked around the room. One of the creepier aspects of the Stretching Room was its apparent lack of windows and doors. Cast members operating the ride had to open parts of the room to allow the guest to walk through; any regular person couldn't access it. When the three of them had entered the room, the doors had been open. Now, looking around, Finn noticed that both the entrance and exit had closed without their notice. "Well, that's problematic." He muttered.

"Huh?" Holly said, looking up at him. She appeared to have gotten out of some daze, blinking rapidly and twisting her head around. "How'd we get here?" She mumbled to herself. She felt as if she had just woken up from a long nap.

"I think a better question would be, 'how the hell do we get out?'" Amanda remarked.

_I believe I can help you with that. That is, if you foolish mortals are willing to follow._

"Uh," Finn began slowly. "I'm not the only one who heard that…right?"

"Definitely not." Amanda replied. "Who was that?"

"Ghost Host," Holly answered.

_Indeed. While I normally spend my eternity guiding the living around my current residence, today I've decided to sit back. Take a day off._

Around them, the portraits began to stretch. The girl on the tightrope tilted her head to the side and smiled. Finn blinked; had he imagined that?

_You see, ghosts are very territorial. We don't mind our fellow undead sharing our house, but mortals disturb our peace. We were given a day to relax by ourselves, and you three decided to interrupt that. Well, I will be gracious to you and give you a way out of here but you have to stay close. I can't guarantee that my cohorts will be as forgiving. Hope you're not afraid of the dark._

A cackle echoed through the room. The portraits had reached their full height. At close inspection, their occupants appeared to be living, breathing. None of said occupants seemed to be too concerned with their eminent deaths, however. They instead studied the teens closely. On the ceiling, a corpse was revealed handing by a noose. Suddenly, everything went silent. The sound of a rope breaking was heard. Every light in the room went out.

The last thing any of the Keepers remembered before blacking out was a sickening crunch—just like the sound of bones breaking.

~.~

It took a few minutes for Holly's eyes to adjust. She wasn't sure exactly where she was—she only knew it wasn't the same room as before. She was definitely still in the mansion—the sounds of creaking stairs and moaning winds answered that. Unlike before, the mansion was alive and thriving. The ominous organ music echoed through the building, making her feel uneasy.

She sat up and surveyed the room. She was sitting on the tracks in the middle of it, which was a bit uncomfortable. On both side of her, wedding gifts and mementos were scattered about. Placed throughout the room were fancy wedding portraits. Each showed a different man, but the young bride in the picture remained consistent in all of them. At first, the portraits appeared normal, but after a moment, the husbands' heads disappeared before quickly reappearing. Holly realized where she was: the Attic, a room only recently added to the Florida mansion.

As she struggled to get up, Holly noticed the room get dimmer. She tripped on the tracks and fell back down, hurting her right leg. The lights in the room went out. The usual music and moans stopped, and one sound became suddenly more pronounced: the steady beating of a human heart. The room temperature dropped. Holly felt her insides freeze, numbing the pain in her leg. A gush of wind blew towards her. Something in front of her was glowing slightly, though Holly could not for the life of her figure out what it was.

The thing—whatever it was—was coming closer, and as it did, the chill increased. Holly crawled back quickly until she felt her back hit the wall behind her. As the figure drew near, Holly heard the thumping heartbeat increase. The small room seemed to pulse with it. Holly closed her eyes, trying to shut it out. She couldn't move. Even with her eyes shut it was clear the figure was right in front of her. Suddenly feeling brave, she slowly opened them.

Right in front of her, inches away from her face was the ghostly form of a young woman in a wedding dress. But Holly wasn't paying attention to the woman herself, or the sort of manic expression on her face. She was staring at the axe in the woman's hand, which was hovering right over Holly's neck.

~.~

Amanda had been in some weird situation in her life, but waking up in a Doom Buggy was certainly new. The Buggy was parked in a long hallway with large, round mirrors hanging on one of the walls. Unlike before, lamps were dimly lit on each wall. It wasn't as bright as it had been when they had first arrived, but Amanda could figure out fairly easy where everything was.

Getting up, Amanda realized that she was alone. Not only was the Ghost Host's deep voice absent, but also so were Finn and Holly. Where had they gone? How had she gotten here, to this random hallway when she had been standing in Stretching Room only moments earlier? She tried to remember what happened before she had blacked out. The three of them had been standing in the center of the room while the mysterious Host taunted them about fearing the dark. What had he said before that? Hadn't he mentioned something about staying close to each other? So why were they separated now?

She walked straight ahead to the end of the hallway. She turned left to a wide, square arch. She was about to walk through it when a high-pitched voice informed her, "Your friends are not in there."

Amanda jumped. She looked wildly around the room before finding a small woman about the size of a doll perched on top of the arch. Amanda recognized it—her?—as the voice at the end of the ride urging visitors to hurry back to the mansion, preferably with their death certificate in hand.

"Where are they?" Amanda demanded. The small woman looked down at Amanda, an annoyed expression shown clearly on her face.

"I do not know." The woman said shortly. "I can feel the presence of those currently in the mansion, but I cannot see their exact location. My powers are quite limited when in this form."

"'This form'?" Amanda questioned. "Do you have others?"

"Yes." The woman replied. "My powers have forbidden me from possessing a physical form like others residing here, but I can appear in certain objects." She explained. "I prefer a crystal ball."

Amanda gasped. "You're Madame Leota!" She realized.

The woman nodded. "So I am." She replied. "Find your friends and bring them to my séance room. I have something I wish to tell you."

Amanda nodded and turned around. She headed out, back to the heart of the mansion, unsure of what she would find.

~.~

Holly ran as fast as her feet could carry her through the winding, seemingly never ending hallways of the mansion. Through the fake windows in the room, lightning flashed violently. She ran into a library and hid behind one of the armchairs, panting. She tried to remain as silent as possible as the ghost bride glided through the doorway. The bride turned to the marble busts situated in the bookcases.

"Where is she?" Her voice was sweet and caring, and for some reason this made her seem even more sinister then before. No one would have guessed this woman had offed several husbands by herself.

"Behind the chair." One of the busts whispered in reply. The bride turned to the armchair Holly was hiding behind and smiled.

"I might not be able to see you, little girl, but I can hear your heart beating."

Holly jumped up and ran out of the room, almost knocking into a coffin. She climbed up the stairs and looked back. The bride was gaining speed, and would reach her in a matter of seconds. Holly backed up and felt herself fall.

She wasn't sure exactly what happened. All she knew was the world was tumbling around her, and she was losing consciousness.

~.~

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!"

Finn opened his eyes carefully. Even as he stood up, he could not find the source of the voice. He was in the graveyard scene by the mausoleum. Cold breezes flew past him as various ghosts glided through the air. Some chatted with each other, while others floated around, trying to scare the AA caretaker and his dog. In one of the corners, four busts hummed along with an opera-singing ghost.

"Come back here, little girl!"

Finn turned to see the ghost of a young bride gliding down to the graveyard scene.

"Where'd you go?" She taunted, calling out. It took a minute for Finn to figure out whom she was referring to: across the room, at the bottom of the stairs, a girl laid unconscious.

Finn raced to the girl. "Amanda?" He questioned aloud. But the girl was far too pale to be Amanda. "Holly…" He realized.

"Well, isn't this cute." The bride crooned. She grinned maliciously. "Now I get two to kill!"

Finn did a double take. Kill?

"Oh, leave the kids alone." The Caretaker said, sounding weary. He had just stepped from behind, his dog trotting around his feet. Unlike the ghosts of the Mansion, the Caretaker was an audio-animatronic, and moved jerkily and stiffly. "They're just here for some information, they're not harming you."

"They're ruining my day off!" The bride screeched. "Those people offered us—"

"I know what they offered us." The Caretaker responded. "But remember, we never officially agreed. Leota has yet to given them the card, and quite honestly, I'm glad. I don't trust these 'Overtaker' fellows."

"Overtakers?" Finn cut in. "They talked to you?"

"Yes," The Caretaker confirmed. "I can't talk about it here, though. Most of the ghosts don't know yet—we don't need the confusion."

"But what card?" Finn questioned. "What—?"

"Enough chit-chat!" The bride snapped. "Just let me kill the fools already!"

"No murder today, Constance." The Caretaker said. "We have to bring them to Leota first."

"Who cares about Leota?" The bride asked. She tried to punch the Caretaker, but her forearm went through his body, leaving him unharmed.

"Not gonna happen, Constance." The Caretaker chided. "Now, go back to the Attic. I have enough trouble controlling the hitchhikers, I don't need to add you to the chaos." The bride fumed, but nonetheless left, gliding up the stairs. Once she was gone, the Caretaker turned to Finn. "Sorry about that." He apologized. "I'm the caretaker of this mansion, and it's my job to keep order in the place after the park closes. There are 999 ghosts exactly in this place, and very few are tame. They're forbidden from harming the guests and aren't allowed to leave the mansion, even after the gates have closed. They're restless after all this. Can't say I blame them, though. I'm feeling a bit stir crazy myself."

"What were you saying before?" Finn asked. "About the Overtakers?"

The Caretaker's faced darkened. "Oh, them." He muttered. "You see," his voice returning to normal volume. "They've been asking us to join their side for years. Every once in a while, one of them would come to the mansion and offer us rewards for joining them."

"Like what?" Finn asked.

"Freedom, mostly." The Caretaker answered. "There's some type of magic that stops the ghosts from leaving the building, and apparently, the Overtakers are about to acquire some powerful magic that will let them break the spell. Imagine it—ghosts wandering around the park at night. It would be utter chaos! They may be transparent, but that doesn't mean the can't create trouble when they want to."

"Why do the Overtakers want the ghosts on their side, though?" Finn questioned.

"It's not so much the ghosts themselves, but the access to a clue hidden in the mansion. The clue leads to the power magic they want."

"The Sorcerer's Hat." Finn said.

"Exactly." The Caretaker responded. "I don't know how they got the lead to it, but they've been snooping around here a lot the past few days. They're the ones who turned the ride off. They convinced the park employees there's something toxic in the building. People have been avoiding it all day." He sighed.

"Why?" Finn asked. "As a favor to the ghosts?" He thought about Ghost Host telling them how he had a day off.

The Caretaker nodded. "They've convinced most of the ghosts here, but Leota isn't budging. She's the one who knows the clue."

Holly stirred. "W-what h-h-happened?"

"You fell down a flight of stairs, I think." Finn responded, helping her up. "Are you okay?" Blood tricked down one of Holly's cheeks. There was a cut on the side of her head that she had gotten from her fall.

"I don't know." Holly said. "Where are we?" It was the second time she had asked that that day, and Finn was beginning to worry.

"We're in the Haunted Mansion." He answered. "We're here on the quest, remember?"

"Haunted Mansion?" Holly said confused. "Wait, what quest?"

"We have to find the Sorcerer's Hat." Finn responded, panicking. "Wayne told us about this days ago. You honestly don't remember?"

"No, I don't, and you're really starting to freak me out." Holly said. She looked at the Caretaker. "Who're you?"

"I'm the caretaker of the mansion." He said. "What was the last thing you remember?" He asked gently.

"I was walking home from school." She answered. "Charlene had just texted me about something… I can't remember what, but I think it was important…"

"She must've hit her head pretty hard." The Caretaker said to Finn. "She should probably see a doctor."

"Are we the only ones here, Finn?" Holly asked. "Of the Keepers, I mean."

"No," Finn said. "Amanda's here too. I don't know where she is, though…"

~.~

Amanda ran, trying to out run her pursuers.

The hitchhiking ghosts chased behind, knocking down vases and candles as they went. One of them, a prisoner, dragged sluggishly, trying to remove the ball and chain attached to his ankle. The other two, the Traveler and the Skeleton, zoomed past Amanda and stood in front of the nearest arch, trying to block her. This failed, however, since Amanda could run right through them.

"Not fair!" The Skeleton protested, once again floating towards her.

"Not fair?" Amanda screeched. "You three are the ones chasing me simply for the fun of it! _That's_ what's not fair!"

She reached Madame Leota's séance room. "Hello, dearie." Leota greeted warmly. "You two!" She ordered, referring to the two hitchhikers that had reached the archway. "Shoo!"

The two opened their mouths to argue, but no sound escaped from it. Frustrated, they floated away. Madame Leota turned her gaze to Amanda.

"Your friends are near here, I can feel it." She said. Amanda nodded, and left the room.

~.~

"Amanda!" Finn called, seeing his girlfriend run into the room. "Over here!"

"Hey," she greeted once she reached them. "We have to go to the Séance Room." She informed the other two teens.

"We know." Finn said.

"We do?" Holly questioned, confused. Amanda noticed the cut on her head.

"Is she okay?" Amanda asked.

"She can't remember anything from the last four or so days." Finn said. "Besides that, she's fine. Just has a small cut." Amanda frowned.

"We should get this over with, then." She said. "The sooner we get her out of here, the better."

~.~

The glow of the crystal ball reflected off of the three teen's faces. Madame Leota stared intently at them for the longest time before speaking. As he waited, Finn couldn't help but be a little anxious. The some of the ghosts didn't like their presence in the mansion, and had no problem showing it. How could they know they could trust her? Of all the people in the world, the spirit of a woman who could make objects float and spoke in rhymes was probably the last one Finn would ask for help.

The woman opened her mouth and chanted:

_"Eight in all joined the quest_

_To calm the evils' dire unrest_

_Five, by choice, there from the beginning_

_Fine glow by night, their past tales of winning_

_Two together by fate did meet_

_Joined, helped the others to complete_

_One alone, a song from the sea_

_Stands silent to disagree_

_All look for the same powerful prize:_

_A hat to keep them from their untimely demise"_

No one said anything at first. Then Finn asked, "You said you would help us with our quest. What can you tell us?"

A card flew through the air and landed on the table in front of them. It was turned down, so that the number of the card could not be seen.

"_The next location for you to see_

_Is on this card for you to carry_

_Do not flip the card until in the sunlight_

_Or risk a terrible fright_"

Holly groaned. "Why can't people just be straight forward for once?" She demanded. "If a piano's going to be dropped on my head in a minute, just tell me. You're not gonna hurt my feelings."

"So," Finn said, ignoring Holly, "This card is our only clue? We can leave now?"

Madame Leota nodded.

"_The card has what you're looking for_

_But, if you'll allow me, I'll give you something more:_

_A terrible tragedy is about to commence_

_Only one can stop the events_

_A traitor is among you, though a traitor unwilling_

_Uncover the truth and see past their deceit_

_Insanity is upon us, I do believe_

_By the end of the week, two will leave_"

Amanda opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped by a thick fog appearing in the room. It surrounded the teens until they couldn't see.

~.~

They were in front of little Leota again.

"Goodbye, children." The miniature woman said. "Do not forget what I told you."

"We won't." Amanda assured her. The three of them passed through the arch and out of the building.

As they passed through the gates, Finn found himself face to face with a park employee.

"You're not supposed to be in there!" She said, flabbergasted. She narrowed her eyes. "Hey, do I know you—?"

The three teens ran.

~.~

"There's a traitor." Amanda said worried as they sat down on the bus.

"We don't know that." Finn said.

"But she said—"

"So?" Holly questioned. "Just because a woman in a crystal ball told you something doesn't mean its true." After everything that had happened in the last hour, she was rather peeved.

"Holly has a point." Finn said, trying to reassure Amanda. "We can't start accusing our friends just because of a rumor."

"And we don't know that it's one of us," Holly said. "It could just be one of the 'good' characters or whatever."

"I know," Amanda said. "I'm just nervous, is all. She kept talking about tragedy and people leaving the group... I just hope it doesn't come true."

"I do too." Finn said. He handed her the playing card. "Well, we're technically in the sunlight, right? Let's see where we're going next."

Amanda flipped the card over. Instead of the usual clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades, the card was decorated ornately. It showed a black flag with a skull and cross bones on it, surround by piles of jewelry and gold.

"Pirates."

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! Charlie and Maybeck are in the next chapter.<strong>


	7. Chapter Six: Captain Jack Sparrow

**_*Important __Author's note at the bottom*_**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SIX<strong>

"So, I take it Philby fixed the server?"

Charlene Turner had just woken up on the sidewalk of Main Street. Maybeck had as well, a few minutes prior. He had been studying one of the posters outside of the Emporium when she had walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Guess so." He answered with a shrug. An awkward silence settled over them. It was clear that neither of them was particularly interested in the task at hand.

"So… onto pirates, now." Charlene said.

"Yep." Maybeck answered. Charlene sighed.

"Is it going to be like this the whole night?" She asked wearily.

"Like what?" Maybeck asked, confused.

"I don't know." She said feeling exasperated. "It's just that whenever I've been around you lately, everything suddenly gets awkward and weird. I'm tired of it being like that."

"I don't like it either," Maybeck said, "but I have a feeling it's not going to change anytime soon." With that, he started off to Adventureland, leaving Charlene behind.

~.~

Charlene switched on the flashlight and shined it into the jail cells. She had no idea where the clue could be. She and Maybeck were the only ones who hadn't helped out in the quest so far, and she didn't know what to look for.

Finding nothing interesting, she moved on, reaching the loading docks. Maybeck had gone far ahead of her, up into the actual ride. She wasn't sure how, though, seeing as the only way through were the stationary boats parked in front of her. There was flooring on the edges of the water, however. Charlene assumed those were either for the cast members or a path to leave the ride in case of emergency. Regardless, she stepped onto one of them, and cautiously made her way through the ride.

~.~

Maybeck peered at the AAs frozen in place around the different rooms of the ride, wondering why they weren't alive. The Keepers had run into the pirates plenty of times before, so why hadn't he been attacked yet? True, some of the AAs were merely harmless civilians, but that didn't explain why they were moving. What caused the rides to come alive? When Wayne had first explained it to them, he had said it had to do with the guests' belief of the characters. But if that was the case, then why hadn't they seen any of the "good" characters yet? Surely people believed in them, even if they could be a bit bland. Overall, the idea of the characters coming to life seemed a bit flawed. Maybeck didn't really think about it very often, but when he did, he couldn't help but see the randomness of it all.

Maybeck heard a crash from behind. Turning around, he saw one of the barrels in the scene shaking. "Who's there?" He asked. Slowly and quietly, a head popped up from the top of the barrel. Maybeck recognized it immediately: Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Hello, mate." Sparrow greeted in a whisper. "I wouldn't be here if I were you. Some nasty fellows out tonight."

"You mean the other pirates?" Maybeck asked. "How do I know you're not one of them?" He had seen the movies. Although Jack seemed to be a decent person on the inside, that didn't mean he wasn't above conning people to get what he wanted.

"Well, you don't, _really_." Sparrow answered with a shrug. "You'd just have to trust my judgment."

"Trust your judgment of whether you're good or bad?" Maybeck questioned. "But you'd be biased either way." He pointed out.

"Right you are, mate." Sparrow said. "Really doesn't help matters, does it?"

"No." Maybeck said and walked past the pirate.

"What if I told you that you were right about to walk into Barbossa's lair?" Sparrow called out from behind.

"Don't care." Maybeck answered.

"Maybeck?" A third, this time female, voice called out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah!" He answered.

"Stay where you are!" Charlene instructed. Maybeck heard footsteps from her direction. The sound got closer and closer, and then stopped abruptly.

Charlene screamed.

~.~

Charlene made her way towards the next room. She forced herself to look straight ahead of her, away from the creepy and silent AAs around her. She saw the glow of Maybeck's DHI in the distance and quickened her pace. She hated the dark, and she hated that Maybeck had left her alone to search the place by herself.

A cold chill ran down her spine, and Charlene stopped in her tracks. She knew that chill too well—the Keepers felt it whenever an OT was near, particularly Maleficent. Slowly, she turned her head sideways and shone her flashlight at the set. To her right, and AA of a pirate stood motionless. Charlene studied it for a moment, not moving from her place. The man's face was expressionless, different from the usual hearty grins that most of the pirates wore. The pirate was covered in dirt and grime, and smelled absolutely foul. Odd, Charlene thought. The AAs usually didn't smell, and they usually resembled the characters they played in the ride. Something was wrong here, and it bothered her.

Out of nowhere, as if sensing her, the pirate turned its head towards her and smiled.

She screamed, dropping her flashlight to the ground.

~.~

"Charlie?" Maybeck called out. He shone his flashlight in front of him. Charlene's had gone out for some reason, making it difficult to find her.

"Maybeck?" He heard from the water. Wait, the _water_?

"Charlene?" He repeated, looking down at the water. Sure enough, she was there, her hand gripping the edge of the platforms. He set the flashlight on the ground and grabbed her hands, pulling her out of the water. "How'd you end up in there?"

"Pirate." She answered. "He pushed me in all of a sudden, before I could figure out what was going on." She shivered. "Where do we go now? I heard something about Barbossa?"

"Yeah, apparently he's in here somewhere." Maybeck said. "He'll probably know what the clue is. Doubt he'll tell us, though."

"Yeah." Charlene agreed. "We're pretty much in OT's lair at the moment. The point of this quest was to keep the hat from the Overtakers, yet they placed a clue right where the OTs have the best chance to find it. Why did they do that?"

"Maybe the pirates weren't part of the Overtakers back then." Maybeck suggested. "We don't know how powerful they were back then. After all, Davy Jones didn't exist back then, and he's probably the most likely of the pirates to be an OT."

"True." Charlene agreed. "Who're you talking to back there, anyway?"

"Why, me, of course." Sparrow answered, walking up to the two. He tipped his hat to Charlene. "Glad to here your okay, lass." Charlene stared at him, nonplussed.

"Jack Sparrow?" She said incredulously. Of course, it made perfect sense for him to be there, but Charlene hadn't really thought about it. She was surprised she hadn't recognized his voice before.

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow." He corrected.

"Anyway, we need to get going." Maybeck said, grabbing Charlene's hand and moving quickly past Sparrow.

"What was that about?" Charlene asked once the pirate was out of hearing distance. "Don't like him?"

"Don't trust him." Maybeck said. Charlene nodded, agreeing with him. They could hardly trust anyone these days, and someone as tricky as Jack Sparrow certainly wasn't someone you wanted to rely on.

~.~

The two of them reached the end of the ride. On their left, across from the water was a room filled with jewels and gold coins. Inside, Barbossa sat in a lavish throne, a skeletal monkey crawling around him. In the room, other pirates walked around in awe, examining the treasure.

"Stay close to the wall." Maybeck whispered. Charlene obeyed, hoping not to be seen.

"HEY!" Maybeck yelled. Barbossa looked up at him.

"Well, well, well." Barbossa said. "What've we got here? Could you be one of the famous Kingdom Keepers?" His voice wasn't malicious, simply curious. He didn't look ready to attack. Maybeck wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't a member of the OTs at all, but merely just a bystander.

"Yeah, I am." Maybeck said. "You know why I'm here, and what I'm looking for. Let's just get this over with."

"Straight to the point, aren't ye?" Barbossa replied. "I admire that. Much better then Sparrow, Lord knows he can be annoying." He picked up a coin from the ground and studied it. "Fake." He announced. "Don't know why those bilge rats think they can win us over with this stuff."

"Win you over?" Maybeck asked. "What're you talking about?"

"We pirates are mercenaries, nothing more." Barbossa answered. "Our loyalties lie with ourselves and our crew. Anyone else we work for is simply for monetary gain."

"So, they're bribing you?" Maybeck asked.

"Exactly." Barbossa said. "Unfortunately for them, some of us aren't won over easily." Barbossa set the coin down. "Not sure if you're aware, lad, but there's a war brewing. And I intend to having nothing to do with it." He looked back at Maybeck. "I know what you're looking for, and I've been instructed to give it to you."

"Will you?" Maybeck asked.

"Of course." Barbossa said. "But I have a few conditions."

"What?"

"First, two of you need to be here. I've seen you kids around, and whenever one's left alone, it's never good. The Overtakers had plenty of spells at their disposal, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of you were enchanted at this very moment."

"Well, there's two of us now." Charlene said, stepping forward slightly.

"Good." Barbossa said. "Second, you have to come here and get the clue yourself." Charlene looked down at the water in front of her, realizing what Barbossa meant.

~.~

"Ugh, I'm freezing!" Charlene complained as the entered the apartment.

"Well, we'll be home soon." Maybeck said with a shrug. He set the jar Barbossa had given them on the coffee table.

"A jar of dirt." Charlene said, studying it. "The clue is a jar of dirt."

"Yep." Maybeck said. "Wasn't that in the movies as well?"

"Yeah," Charlene answered, nodding. "Tia Dalma gave it to Jack. He put something in it at the end of the film."

"Davy Jones's heart." Maybeck stated.

"Ew."

"Yeah." He agreed. "Doubt that's in there, though."

"So…" Charlene said. "Do we just…open it?"

"I guess." Maybeck said. "It's the only way we're going to find out what's inside." He unscrewed the lid and poured the contents on the floor.

"We're gonna have to clean that up later." Charlene pointed out. Maybeck shrugged.

The two knelt on the floor, sifting through the dirt.

"What's this?" Charlene asked. Gingerly, she picked a piece of paper out from under the dirt.

"It's a blue print." Maybeck realized, brushing some of the dirt off.

On the blueprint was elaborate designs showing carts of people moving around on a track throughout various parts of the park. At the top left was printed **TOMORROWLAND TRANSIT AUTHORITY PEOPLE MOVER.** At the bottom, someone had scrawled '_five down, three to go.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Hiya there! I've notice no one reviewed the last chapter. Well, that's fine with me really. I don't have to post the next chapter next week. I could wait as long as I wanted to, really...<strong>

**But that's not the point. You see, in their 'quest', there was originally going to be ten locations, with the tenth one being the location of the hat. I've reduced it to eight, simply because I'm running out of ideas (which is also why this chapter is about half the length of the other ones). Anyway, things about to get pretty exciting. MANY things will be happening in part two (which will really only be about three chapters). This story is mainly comprised of their quest for the hat, but that's not all that's in here. Part Two will consist of many important, yet surprising things. I've hinted at some of it in the past chapters.**

**Anyway, this story is going to have two sequels. One of them, the one that will be published first, is more of a prequel, time-line wise. I'm only referring to it as a sequel because it won't make sense unless you read this story first. I've just started outlining it, but I need to come up with a name. It might be a bit shorter then this story, though.**

**Just wanted to keep you guys informed. Nine weeks till Shell Game!**

**-Holly**


	8. Chapter Seven: PeopleMover Time! Yeah!

**Hey, y'all! Thanks to Lex, Kingdom Keepers Rule, and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing my story. You guys are awesome! As I promised, here's the next chapter! Things are starting to come together. I'll try to write the next chapter. I have a three day weekend, so might be able to, but it all depends on how long my homework takes me. Still, I think I'll be able to do it.**

**Also, in the chapter Jess makes a comment about Celebration, FL. Rereading it, it sounds a little snarky, and trust me, it's not intended that way. From what I've heard, Celebration sounds like a wonderful place to live. I'm just surprised that people often compare it to the original plans to EPCOT, because it doesn't look at all like the model Walt made. But that just my opinion. If you live in Celebration, please don't be offended!**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SEVEN<strong>

Friday afternoon, the eight of them met up at the Frozen Marble. Two of the tables had been pushed together to allow enough room for all of them, taking up quite a bit of space in one of the corners of the restaurant. It had taken a while for all of the teens to get there. Once everyone was settled down, Finn cleared his throat and started the meeting.

"So far, we've gone to five different locations on the quest. According to the blueprint Charlie and Maybeck found, there's only three more places to go before we find the hat." He explained.

"Or maybe the third place is where the hat is hidden." Holly suggested. She was still awfully confused about this whole hat business. Sure, she gained a tiny bit of her memory, and Charlene had explained everything multiple times, but things still didn't add up to her.

"Possibly." Finn agreed. "It wasn't very specific."

"Do you have the blue print with you?" Philby asked Charlene. She nodded, and took it out of her bag, smoothing it out on the table.

"The blue print has to be from the 1990s at the earliest." Philby said, examining it. "The ride used to be called the WEDWay PeopleMover. It wasn't until '94 that they changed it to the Transit Authority."

"But didn't you guys say this quest thing was made in the 70s?" Holly said, confused.

"Originally it was, but it's clearly been updated since then." Philby explained to her. "They would have to move some of the clues after a while, considering how much the park has changed over the years."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Finn continued. "We might have not have had much problem with the Overtakers so far, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to. We're still racing against them, and we don't know how much progress they've made."

"The way the quest is set up, you don't have to go to every location." Willa pointed out. "Maybe they're waiting till the end."

"It's possible." Finn said. "Either way, it's best that we finish this sooner rather then later. For the most part, the clues haven't taken very long to find, so I thought that maybe we could find them all tonight. We could split into three groups—two groups of two, and one group of three. Once one group finds their clue, they'll tell the next group where to go."

"Like a relay race." Willa said.

"Exactly." Finn responded. "It'll be a long night, and there'll probably be a lot of waiting involved, but I think it's the best we can do." He got out a piece of paper and a pen and started writing down the Keeper's names. "Amanda and Jess will be in the first group. Maybeck and I will be next, and Charlene, Philby, and Willa will be in the last group." Six heads nodded at him, but one of them stared at him silently. He knew what was coming, and he didn't want to answer it.

"What about me?" Holly asked, frowning. "I'd be fine with helping you."

"Thanks, Holly, but you've helped us enough." Finn answered. "You've already hit your head, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Oh, I don't care about that." Holly answered dismissively. "Really, I want to help you guys. It can't hurt to have an extra person there. Even if I don't find one of the clues, I'm sure I could help out somehow."

"But you don't have a DHI." Philby pointed out. "How would you get there?"

"I have my ways." Holly answered.

"No." Finn answered. "Really, Holly."

"Why not?" Holly whined.

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because!"

"That's a horrible excuse." Holly said. "I'm coming whether you like it or not."

"But—"

"Oh, Finn, just shut up and let her come." Amanda said.

"I'm not going to give up." Holly said.

"She really won't." Charlene mumbled. "Trust me, I'd know."

Finn sighed. "Fine." He said, giving up. "You can be in the second group, if you'd like."

"Yay!" Holly said excitedly. Charlene rolled her eyes.

~.~

At 10:15 P.M Holly stared at the mirror in the woman's bathroom, waiting. The park had closed an hour ago, but she didn't know how long the park employees would stay. Charlene had just crossed over, as well as Amanda and Philby, and had promised to alert her when the coast was clear. Charlene was somewhere called "Walt's Apartment," which she had promised to show Holly how to enter. Despite knowing about and being involved with the Kingdom Keepers for a year, Holly still didn't know about many of their hiding places or past adventures, and was puzzled as to where said apartment was.

Her phone buzzed, informing her that her sister would meet her by the Partners statue. Still cautious, Holly left the bathroom and walked quietly down Main Street.

~.~

Amanda rolled up the blueprint and stuffed it in her backpack. Jess stood next to her, waiting for their signal to leave. Once everyone entered the apartment, the two left to Tomorrowland.

~.~

"This place is so creepy." Jess whispered. Amanda nodded, agreeing with her. "Hopefully we won't be here to long."

They walked onto the track, flashlights in hand. The place felt oddly empty, something Jess could never get used to, even after years of waking up in the park at night. They followed the track silently, Amanda occasionally checking the blueprint. To their right, Jess saw the doors to Stitch's Great Escape. She could imagine the Blue Line's narration in her head, informing the guests about the ride, and having Stitch mention something as well. The ride was about ten minutes long by cart, and while the ride was slow, walking would take even longer. Still, it was interesting to see the park from above, especially at night.

After about three or so minutes, they reached a dark tunnel. Red lights dimly lit the tunnel from the ceiling, adding an eerie glow. On the left of them, a wide, brightly lit window came into view. Jess gasped when she saw it.

It was a large, scale model of Disney's original plan for Epcot. Instead of being an amusement park, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow had originally planned to be a futuristic, utopian-like city. It was amazing to see, and sad when Jess realized how Walt's dream had never come true. The closest thing to it was Celebration, Florida, which reminded Jess more of Pleasantview then the city of the future.

"I wonder if the clue's here?" Amanda asked.

"Maybe." Jess said. "I'm not sure how they would've hidden it, though. Wouldn't it be obvious where it was?"

"Maybe." Amanda said. "But the clue from the Haunted Mansion was a playing card—the clue we're looking for could be pretty small."

"True." Jess admitted. "But wouldn't it be a bit odd to hide a clue to a location in the Magic Kingdom in a model of Epcot?"

Amanda laughed. "You do have a point there."

The two sisters continued on, agreeing that they could easily come back later. They left the tunnel, following the tracks past the Tomorrowland Speedway. It had only been about a week since they had gone there, yet it felt so much longer.

After a while they reached another tunnel, this one wider with a sign for Space Mountain. More windows were in this, showing Space Mountain fully lit, revealing the complex structure of the roller coaster.

"Bizarre." Jess heard Amanda mumble. She had to agree.

~.~

After passing the Carousel of Progress and Mickey's Star Traders, the sisters entered yet another tunnel. Jess's feet were starting to hurt and her mind was beginning to wander. She knew she was supposed to be focused on the ride, but she was getting bored. They had been in the ride for over ten minutes, and were only about three-fourths of the way through.

"Hey, where are we, anyway?" Jess asked her sister.

"Buzz Lightyear, I think." Amanda responded, shining her flashlight at the blueprint. Amanda let out a yawn. "I think—" She abruptly stopped, mid sentence, and after a moment Jess knew why. Behind them, not too far away from where they were standing, was the voice of a woman that Jess knew all too well: Maleficent.

The voice became louder as Maleficent came closer. Jess wasn't even paying attention to what the evil fairy was saying. She searched around, trying to find a place to hide.

"In here!" Amanda whispered opening a door marked **CAST MEMBERS ONLY**. She and Jess ran inside, closing the door and turning off their flashlights just in case. They stood there, backs against the door, panting. Jess felt her body freeze up as the fairy passed by. Maleficent's voice could no longer be heard—Jess didn't know if she had stopped talking, or if the door had blocked her voice out. After a minute, Jess began to feel warm again. Maleficent had left.

"That was close." Amanda said, turning her flashlight on. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Dunno." Jess answered. She shined her flashlight onto the hallway they had just entered. They were in one of the display windows. In it, a woman sat in a chair, her head covered by some machine. Her face was shown in what Jess assumed was supposed to be a computer screen. The woman's hair was being cut and styled. Apparently, they were in a futuristic salon.

"Might as well check this out while we're here." Jess suggested. Amanda nodded.

"She looks like a Barbie doll." Amanda muttered, staring at the mannequin-woman-type-thing. Jess looked at the walls, staring at a beaded curtain in the back. The curtain covered most of one of the walls. For the most part, Jess couldn't see through it, but squinting, there appeared to be an object behind it. Jess pushed the curtain back and picked up the object. It was a menu, advertising the Tomorrowland Terrace Café.

"Hey, 'Manda." Jess called. Her sister turned around, and Jess showed her the menu.

"That's random." Amanda commented. "You don't think—"

"It's possible." Jess said.

"But all of the clues have been rides." Amanda argued. "After all, wouldn't it be risky to hide it in a restaurant?"

"I don't think it would be any riskier then hiding it in a ride." Jess said. "Look, it's the only lead we've got so far."

"I know." Amanda said. "Let's just search the rest of the ride first, just to be careful. It'll be faster to finish the loop then to go backwards."

They left the window display and finished the ride. They hadn't found anything else, so Amanda decided that it had to be the clue after all. She called Maybeck, informing him of the menu. Finn had lent her his phone since neither Jess nor Amanda owned one. Mrs. Nash didn't allow cell phones, and the girls wouldn't have been able to afford one anyway. She hung up, and the two sisters left the PeopleMover, making their way back to the apartment.

"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" Amanda guessed as they left Tomorrowland.

"Yep." Jess answered. Amanda sighed.

"Oh well."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter the location to the Sorcerer's Hat will be revealed, even though it won't be seen until ch. 9. Any guesses as to where its hidden? Please review!<strong>


	9. Chapter Eight: insert chapter title here

**A/N: Thanks for the anonymous review! This is a short(er) chapter, and honestly, I'm not fond of it. Next chapter should be better, and a lot more exciting (though probably depressing). You guys are going to hate me for the ending, but... I had to. I'm sorry, I just had to. I'll explain more in the AN for the next chapter. Right now I don't want to spoil anything.**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER EIGHT<strong>

"Hey, wasn't this the place that was never opened?" Maybeck asked as he, Finn and Holly walked up to the Tomorrowland Terrace Café and Noodle Station. The restaurant was partially covered, partially open-aired. It had unique architecture. It was very contemporary with dark gray color patterns and geometrical furniture.

"It usually was in the winter holidays, I think." Holly answered. "They closed it officially last year, and changed the whole menu. It used to have Asian food. Now its just boring fast food like the rest of the park." She said the last part with a sigh. She had never been fond of park food—too unhealthy and way overpriced. For the most part, though, the restaurant hadn't changed. It had been open since the 70s, and still looked very similar to when it opened.

"Why is the clue in a restaurant, though?" Finn asked to no one in particular. "That's kind of random, isn't it?"

"Maybe it's to throw people off." Holly suggested. "Y'know, put a clue in the place people least expect it."

"Or maybe they just ran out of ideas." Maybeck said, slightly more cynical. Holly rolled her eyes.

"You're awfully pessimistic today." Holly observed.

"I'm _always_ pessimistic." Maybeck corrected. "Unlike you, Holly, not everyone suffers from severe mood swings." Holly glared at him, while Finn was just confused. He shook it off, though, and continued into the restaurant.

"Nice place." He observed, looking around. "Where do you think the clue is located?" Maybeck shrugged, and Holly wandered off towards the kitchen.

"Food always seems less appetizing when you see the kitchen it's made in." Holly said, wrinkling her nose. "I'd hate to work here. It must be chaos." She looked in one of the ovens. "Pretty nice ovens, though."

"What do you know about ovens?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"My moms a cook." Holly said with a shrug. "She taught me and my sister everything about food. I got banned from helping with dinner after a while, though."

"Why?" Finn asked.

"I accidentally set the house on fire one too many times." She answered. Finn laughed. That wasn't too surprising—Holly had never been good at controlling her powers, even if she improved a lot in the last month.

"Okay, seriously, how are we supposed to find this?" Holly asked after ten minutes. No one answered her, not that she expected him to. "I'll be right back." She mumbled and walked off to the bathroom.

~.~

"OI! Guys!" Finn heard Holly shout. She ran out of the woman's bathroom, a paper in hand.

"What's that?" He asked. She handed it to him, and he read it aloud:

**HI KEEPERS!**

**MISSING SOMETHING?**

**GUESS YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO KEEP LOOKING. THE THING YOU'RE LOOKING FOR HAS BEEN MOVED TO A SAFER LOCATION. CLUES SHOULDN'T BE IN SOME PLACE SO… AIRY. AFTER ALL, THIS ISN'T THE ONLY CAFÉ HERE. I PREFER THE STARLIGHTS.**

**P.S. JUST CHECK THE AUDIO.**

"You're kidding me." Maybeck said once Finn had finished.

"Nope." Holly said annoyed. "Apparently, we entered the _Pretty Little Liars_ universe when I wasn't looking."

"I prefer the star lights?" Finn asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cosmic Rays." Maybeck said. "That's a café, right?"

"Yeah." Holly answered. "The Starlight Café. I guess that's where we go next."

"But why would they move it if they were gonna tell us where it was anyway?" Finn asked.

"Ulterior motive." Maybeck guessed.

"They could've moved it to hide from the OTs." Holly suggested. "And then put the letter there for us afterwards. The park closed only two hours ago, this had to be written pretty recently."

"It's still odd." Finn said. "What if we're walking into a trap?"

"Then it's just like at the Haunted Mansion." Holly said. "Either way, we need the clue."

"Didn't Madame Leota say something about a traitor?" Finn asked her.

"I don't believe in séances." She answered with a shrug.

"What are you guys talking about?" Maybeck asked confused.

"Nothing important." Holly said. "C'mon. The sooner we get there the better."

~.~

Cosmic Rays Starlight Café was deserted when the Keepers got there. Finn looked at the paper again.

"Just check the audio." He mumbled to himself. "Where would that be?" He searched around the restaurant, looking for speakers of any kind. Maybeck went to the kitchens. Holly helped him, but she didn't seem to be having any more success then he was.

"What were you and Finn talking about before?" Maybeck questioned. "About Madame Leota?"

"When we went to the Haunted Mansion, we saw her. She was the one who have us the clue." Holly explained.

"I thought you lost your memory there." Maybeck said.

"This was after that." Holly clarified.

"Oh." He said. "Well, what'd she tell you? Finn mentioned a traitor?"

"'_A traitor is among you, though a traitor unwilling'_" Holly recited. There was a degree of sarcasm in her voice. Clearly, she didn't believe a word Madame Leota had said.

"How come you can remember that but you can't remember half of last week?" Maybeck asked her.

"I don't know." Holly said. "My mind doesn't make sense sometimes."

Maybeck opened a freezer. "I'm hungry." He complained.

"Me too." Holly agreed. "Though good luck with the freezer food. Everything in there is bound to be frozen." Maybeck shut the door.

"So," He said. "Why don't you like séances?"

"None of your business." Holly muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!" Holly turned on her heel and left the kitchen.

~.~

"What the bloody hell is that?" Holly exclaimed looking at the machine behind a giant keyboard. It was supposed to be an alien of some kind, but Holly thought it looked like a cross between a dodo bird and a giant leopard.

"Sunny Eclipse, apparently." Finn answered, pointing to the sign behind the alien.

"Huh."

"What's up?" Finn asked.

"Well, I'm searching for a clue to a magical hat in a restaurant at Walt Disney World." Holly answered. "You?"

"I'm trying to find where the audio for this thing comes from." Finn said, gesturing to the alien.

"It talks?" Holly asked. She had never been in the restaurant before.

"Yeah, it makes a bunch of corny jokes." Finn said. "I think it plays music, too."

"Weird."

Finn shrugged. "Not much different from the rest of the park." He peered at something on the keyboard. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Holly asked, walking around to the other side of the keyboard to see.

Taped on the side of it was a small, black electronic device. Finn peeled off the duct tape and held the device. "A Walkman." He explained to Holly. "Wonder why that's here."

"You think its part of the clue?" Holly asked him. "It _is_ audio."

"True." He admitted. "Can't be the original, though. I'm pretty sure Walkmans didn't exist in 1975."

"Maybe not, but things have clearly changed in the quest since then." She pointed out. Finn nodded in agreement. He pressed the play button on the Walkman and turned up the volume.

"_There's a great big beautiful tomorrow_

_Shinning at the end of everyday_

_There's a great big beautiful tomorrow_

_And tomorrow's just a dream away."_

~.~

Maybeck left the kitchen, searching for the source of the noise. He saw Finn and Holly by the AA and walked to them.

"What is that?" He asked Finn, who paused the tape.

"Our clue." Finn answered. "The Sorcerer's Hat is hidden in the Carousel of Progress."

~.~

"Did you tell them?" Finn asked Holly, who was typing away on her phone.

"Yup." She answered. "Philby, Willa and Charlene are on their way."

"So what do we do now?" Maybeck asked.

"We wait." Finn answered.

~.~

"I'm bored." Holly complained.

"Yeah, me too." Finn agreed. Maybeck had gone back to the kitchen and was preparing burgers. Holly offered to help, but Maybeck said he didn't trust her around knives. As much as Finn hated to admit it, Maybeck had a point. "What time is it?" He asked her.

"11:42." Holly answered. "Yikes, we've been here awhile."

"We can go back once we've finished eating." Finn decided.

"The burgers are finished." Maybeck announced, sitting down besides them. He handed them each a cheeseburger and began to eat.

"I wonder where in the Carousel the hat's located." Holly said.

"Well, the others can tell us once they get back." Finn said. "Can't be too long from now. They've been there for half an hour already."

"Why is it taking them so long?" Maybeck asked, slightly worried. "What if they ran into an Overtaker?"

"How would the OTs know they were there?" Holly asked curiously.

"Well, seeing as we're the only kids in the park, and everyone minus you is glowing, I don't think we'd be that hard to spot." Maybeck said sardonically.

"But the OTs haven't been doing anything before." Holly pointed out. "Why start now?"

"Well, the whole point of the quest was to find the hat." Maybeck said. "Before, it didn't really matter whether we got there first or not. The OTs would find the clue anyway. Now, that hat's at risk."

The three finished their burgers, and began to clean up.

"Well, I'm sure they're fine." Finn said. "They have phones. They can always call us if something goes wrong."

As if on cue, a bright light flashed through the window from far away. Holly jumped.

"What was that?" Finn asked.

"Lightning, maybe?" Maybeck guessed. The light had disappeared.

"Uh, guys?" Holly said. "You know what direction that light came from, right?"

"Yeah," Maybeck said, filling with dread. "Just next to the Carousel of Progress."

"Maybe we should check it out." Holly said, biting her lip.

"Only one of us needs to go." Finn said. "Who wants to?"

"I will." Maybeck said. Finn nodded, and Maybeck left the restaurant.

Holly's stomach growled. "Still hungry?" Finn asked. Holly nodded.

"I'm going to look for snacks." She said, and left to go to the kitchen. Finn sat back down on the chair, thinking. Hoping. Hoping everything was okay.

But of course, it wasn't.

~.~

Maybeck returned ten minutes later. It was almost midnight at this point, and Finn was getting tired. Holly had gone…somewhere, and he had begun to walk aimlessly around the building.

Spotting Maybeck outside, Finn turned toward the doors and left the café.

"Hey." He greeted as Maybeck climbed up the steps to the café.

"Hey." Maybeck said back. It wasn't very bright outside, but Finn could still see Maybeck's expression pretty well. He looked freaked out.

"Is everything okay?" Finn asked, concerned. "Did you see the others?"

"Yes… and no." Maybeck answered.

"Huh?"

"I saw Philby and Charlie. Willa went to the apartment, apparently." Maybeck explained. "But no, everything is not okay."

"What happened?" Finn asked. "What was that light?"

"It's… it's a long story." Maybeck said. "Go, get Holly, she'll need to hear this too."

"You're freaking me out." Finn said. "Maybeck, what _happened_?"

"It's Wayne, Finn." Maybeck answered, his voice shaking. "Wayne's dead."

* * *

><p><strong>END OF PART ONE<strong>


	10. Chapter Nine: Thirty Minutes Earlier

**A/N: In a bit of a hurry here, so I'll make this quick: thank you to the two anonymous reviewers, y'all are awesome. Here's the next chapter. It's a bit sad, but that's to be expected. Review, s'il vous plait!**

* * *

><p><strong>PART TWO: THE AFTERMATH<strong>

**CHAPTER NINE**

_Approx. 30 minutes earlier_

"Uh, Philby?" Charlene asked the redhead as the three of them—Philby, Willa, and her—entered the Carousel of Progress. "Why is the ride on at midnight?" She bit her lip nervously. What if the Overtakers had already gotten there? What if the hat was gone?

"Dunno." He said. "But I doubt its good." He sat down in the first row, the two girls following behind him.

Like the Hall of Presidents, the Carousel of Progress was a stage show preformed completely by Auto Animatronics. Only in this case, the characters weren't presidents, but an extended family living through the 20th century. There were four scenes, each set on a different holiday: Valentines Day, Fourth of July, Halloween and Christmas. They took place on various times throughout the century, each demonstrating the new technology of the time. The last scene was set in the future, depicting voice activated stoves and virtual reality video games. Philby had always enjoyed the ride, though he never quite understood how the family went through an entire century without aging.

The curtains opened, and narration began, telling the audience about Walt's idea for the ride. The song "A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" played, and the theatre moved, switching into another stage with a different scene.

"So why this ride?" Willa whispered to him as the scene began.

Philby shrugged—he hadn't really thought about it that much. "Well, it's one of the oldest rides here." He said. "And some people said it was Walt's favorite." Willa nodded.

"How exactly are we going to find the hat?" She asked. "We can't exactly jump up on stage and look for it."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." He answered.

Meanwhile, Charlene was paying rapt attention to the ride. She had been on this ride hundreds of times in the past—she remembered even the most random details about it. She studied the AAs, listening to their lines and looking for anything out of place. The other clues had been easy enough to find, but it wasn't as big a deal if a guest or castmember had found it. Here, the Sorcerer's Hat was hidden. Almost two weeks of searching, and their quest would be finished. Charlene just hoped this would be the end of their troubles, at least for a while.

~.~

"Ugh." Charlene moaned as they switched to the fourth and final scene. "If I here this stupid song one more time…"

"No kidding." Willa muttered. "It's almost as bad as Small World!"

The scene transitioned into Christmas. "Isn't it a pleasant day?" The husband—John—said. "Finally, the people we've been told to wait for have finally arrived." The Keepers exchanged glances—that certainly was _not_ the original dialogue.

"Welcome, you three." The sister, Patricia greeted. "We have what you're looking for."

"Yeah!" The brother chimed in. "We just need to confirm it's really you."

"We just need you to answer this simple question." John explained. "_Where did you find the answer to the Stone Cutter's Quill?"_

"One Man's Dream." Philby answered. John nodded.

"Good." He said. A blue shimming sphere formed in the middle of the stage. It glowed brighter and brighter until it formed a cone. Philby could barely make out what it was—the Sorcerer's Hat. Cautiously, he stood up and grabbed the hat from the stage.

The hat felt warm. Philby's fingers tingled holding it.

"Be careful." The mother warned. The ride began to move again, until the Keepers were left in front of the drawn curtains, ending up right where they began.

"Well, that was easy enough." Charlene said after a few moments of silence. Willa nodded in agreement.

"Let's go." Philby said.

"Back to the apartment?" Charlene asked. He nodded.

"I'm not sure where we'll put this, but for now, we should get out of here."

~.~

They found Wayne outside, waiting by the Astro Orbiters ride. Philby wasn't sure how Wayne knew they were there, but decided not to question it. Wayne didn't always make sense, but he knew what he was doing.

"Congratulations." He greeted them. "You were successful."

"Here." Philby handed Wayne the hat. Wayne examined it for a few moments, before saying, "We need to get out of here. It's not safe anymore."

"What do you mean?" Charlene asked, confused. How was this any different than before?

"Something has happened… something I was afraid would happen." Wayne said mysteriously.

"What?" Willa asked concerned.

"I will explain when all seven of you are together." Wayne told them. "Right now, it's not safe. We can't be overheard."

"Seven? Don't you mean eight?" Philby asked. Wayne didn't say anything for a moment. He looked at the three teenagers and sighed.

"I'm afraid you have been betrayed." He said at last.

"What?" Charlene exclaimed. "When? By who?"

"Later, later." He insisted. "Right now, you three need to get to the apartment."

"What's the urgency?" A female voice asked from behind. A blast of cold air hit the teenagers. Turning around, Philby saw none other than Maleficent herself.

~.~

Wayne gave the hat back to Philby. "Go." He instructed. "Now."

"Oh, don't you think you can get away with what's mine." Maleficent growled.

"Yours?" Philby asked. "How is this _yours_?"

"This is my park now." Maleficent. "I own this place, as well as everything inside it." _As if_, Philby thought, clutching to the hat.

"And how'd you figure that one out?" He demanded.

Maleficent conjured a ball of electricity in her palms and threw it at Philby. He ducked, missing it by inches. "The most powerful have the most control." The green fairy informed them. "And I am clearly stronger then you four. Honestly—a senile old man and much of teenagers. You have been a thorn in my side the last two years, but it's over now. Once I get that hat—and I _will_ get it from you—no one will be a match for me. This is where it ends, _Kingdom Keepers_." She said the last two words mockingly.

Maleficent conjured another, this time stronger ball of electricity and aimed it at Willa, who managed to jump away in time.

"Go!" Philby ordered and the three teens ran away from the witch. Wayne was slightly behind them. He ran pretty fast for someone his age, though Philby could tell from the corner of his eye that Wayne was having a hard time keeping up. All the while, Maleficent shot electricity and fire at them. Philby felt like he was doing some type of backwards hopscotch, trying in vain to avoid her spells all while trying to run away.

Wayne caught up, even going ahead of the three Keepers. "Here!" Philby threw the hat to Wayne as he ducked into a shop to avoid a fireball. He emerged a moment later and glanced at Maleficent. The fairy took her own sweet time catching up to the Keepers. Clearly, she didn't have a doubt that she would defeat them.

The four reached the Tomorrowland sign and rested. Panting, Charlene said, "How're we supposed to get away? We're not going to reach the apartment in time."

"We'll figure something out." Philby said.

"We better get going." Willa said, looking behind. Maleficent was only a few feet away from them.

"Give up?" The green fairy questioned.

"Nope!" Willa said, and the four began to run again. They were almost to the Partners Statue when Charlene tripped and scraped her knee. Philby and Willa continued on, oblivious, but Wayne noticed and ran back to help her.

"Aw, look, it's the poor little misunderstood cheerleader." Maleficent mocked. "Everyone thinks you're so wonderful—guess the don't realize what a freak you truly are."

Charlene stared numbly at her. She knew she should get up, run away from this _monster_, but she couldn't. She sat there, Maleficent's words ringing in her head. Yes, it was true. Charlene was a very different person then most people thought of her as. She wasn't some blonde bimbo—she had secrets, and very important ones too. Ones that even the Keepers didn't know about.

"Charlene!" Wayne voice snapped her back into reality. Maleficent was conjuring another ball of electricity in her hands, one bigger then the others before. The stuff she had been throwing at them had been enough to knock them out or injure them pretty badly. This one, however—this one was powerful enough to kill.

Charlene stood up, but collapsed again. Her legs were bleeding, and she felt pretty weak. Panicking, she screamed as Maleficent threw the ball at her. She shut her eyes, and before she knew what was going on, someone shoved her aside, pushing her onto the grassy sidewalk next to her.

She could still she the light with her eyes shut, and she heard a man's scream. Maleficent cackled loudly, and Charlene could hear Willa and Philby racing towards her, yelling something to her.

Charlene opened her eyes and stood up. Out in the middle of the street, Wayne was lying on his back, his eyes closed. The hat had fallen out of his hands amd was laying on the asphalt beside him. Maleficent stopped laughing, but she still grinned evilly. She glided over towards Wayne's body and gingerly picked up the hat. She turned around and walked away.

"No!" Philby ran after her, but Wila grabbed him and held him back. "We can't let her get away!" He hissed, but Willa shook her head.

"There's no use." She said. "Maleficent is way too powerful, especially with the hat. She'd kill you. We don't need anymore casualties."

Charlene walked to Wayne's body a felt for a pulse. Nothing. His heart wasn't beating, he wasn't breathing…

"Oh, God." She exclaimed in realization. "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God!"

"Charlie?" Willa asked, turning around. She gasped.

"Charlene." Philby said, looking at Wayne's body. "Is he…?"

"Yes." She answered simply, before bursting out crying. "This is all my fault!" She cried.

"Don't be ridiculous." Philby said softly. "This isn't your fault—it's _hers_."

"She was aiming for me." Charlene explained. "If I had gotten out of the way in time, Wayne wouldn't have pushed me and…"

"Shh." Willa shushed her, tearing rolling down her face as well. "Philby's right—it's not your fault." She hugged Charlene.

"I still feel awful." Charlene whispered.

They stood there in silence, not knowing what to stay. Finally, after a few minutes, Charlene pointed out, "Jess was right, you know."

"Huh?" Willa asked.

"Her drawing—she drew Maleficent holding the hat. I was looking at something in the background. I couldn't figure out what it was at the time. I never would've guessed it was a body…" She drifted off.

"We need to contact the others." Philby decided after a moment. "I'll call Amanda. Willa—try to get a hold of Wanda. Charlene, you can call Maybeck or your sister."

"No need." She said.

"Huh?" Philby asked confused.

"I said, there's no need." She pointed towards a figure emerging through the Tomorrowland sign. "Maybeck's coming."

~.~

"Maleficent _killed_ him?" Finn asked once Maybeck had finished his story. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. Maleficent was ruthless, and her powers were deadly. But still, that had never happened before. He never knew anyone who had died outside of family. He couldn't quite process everything Maybeck had told him. It didn't seem real. He felt like at any moment he would wake up in his bed and realize it was all just a dream.

Maybeck nodded. "She has the hat, too." He said. "We lost."

Finn stared at the ground, thinking.

"Wanda's at the apartment." Maybeck told him. "We're supposed to meet her and the others there in a few minutes." Finn nodded.

"I'll get Holly." He said, and went back inside the restaurant.

~.~

A crash from the kitchen told Finn where Holly had gone.

He ran into the room. Utensils were scattered across the floor. A white draw was on the ground, and Holly was trying in vain to scoop up the utensils and put them back in the drawer. "Shit!" he heard her curse.

"Need help?" He asked, walking towards her.

"Very much, thanks." She said, continuing to clean up the mess. "I'm not really sure how I managed to knock this thing down."

"What're you doing in the kitchen?" He asked.

"Exploring." She said with a shrug. "What can I say? I'm bored out of my mind." She scooped a fistful of knives in her hand, accidentally cutting her self with one of the blades. She cursed again.

"Careful."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Holly said. "Hey, did Maybeck tell you what was going on?"

"Yeah." Finn answered, pushing the drawer back into the wall. "Uh, Holly, I've got some bad news."

"What's wrong?" She asked curiously, wiping some blood onto her shirt.

"Wayne's dead." Finn told her. Holly's eyes widen.

"Oh." She said, surprised. "I'm really sorry, Finn."

"Yeah…" He mumbled. Holly turned her back away from him and walked to one of the counters. She picked something up, though Finn couldn't tell what. "Maleficent got the hat. It's a long story, and I'm sure your sister can explain it better. Anyway, we have to get to the apartment." He sighed. "I just wonder how Maleficent knew."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Holly asked, her back still turned. "Someone betrayed you. Someone told her where the hat was hidden, so she went to the others and stole it from them."

Finn frowned. "How do you know that?"

She turned around. Finn wasn't sure what happened next. He didn't know if he tripped or was pushed, but somehow he was lying on the ground and Holly was pointing a knife at his throat.

"Because," she answered matter-of-fact. "I'm the one who betrayed you."

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><p><strong>REVIEW!<strong>


	11. Chapter Ten: Total Insanity

**Short chapter this time. I'm sick again. :/**

**Thanks for the review. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER TEN<strong>

Finn gaped at her, unsure of what to say. So many things were going through his mind at the moment. He didn't know what to believe. Finally, he said, "Why?"

Holly seemed mildly surprised at this question. "Why?" She echoed. She sighed. "Oh, Finn, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try." He said, glaring at her.

"I'm trying to protect people." She said. "Don't you see? This thing you're doing…the Kingdom Keepers…it's dangerous. You're a bunch of kids going against some of the most powerful Disney characters of all time. You're only going to hurt yourself in the process." She explained.

"We don't have a choice." Finn argued. "Are you saying we should let the Overtakers win?"

"Yes." She replied curtly. "They're movie characters. What's the worse they can do? Get rid of the Fast Pass lines?"

"It's not just the parks!" He said. "They're trying to take control of the whole world!" Holly snorted.

"Listen to yourself—you sound ridiculous." She said. "I don't like the Overtakers any more then you do, but you need to wake up! Wayne's already dead—you're next. People are getting killed, Finn. Get out of here while you still can."

"You didn't answer my question." Finn said. "Why did you betray us? What good did that do?"

"You can't win." She said. "As long as you continue this little war of yours, people will get hurt. I didn't want to join this mess!" She cried. "You dragged me into this!"

"You wanted to help us." Finn contradicted.

"Maybe at first," Holly said. "But when I sprained my ankle on that island, it got me thinking. If I, someone who had been involved with this for only a matter of days, had already gotten a foot injury, what would happen to someone who had been part of this for years? I knew it was only a matter of time before someone died. And now, I know I was right." She sighed. "When you explained this to me, I thought you guys were some innocent bystanders who got caught up in a dangerous mission without their control. I thought this wasn't your choice."

"It wasn't originally." Finn said. "But I accept it now. We all do."

"_Accept_ it?" She hissed. "More like condone it. You act like there is nothing wrong with this. Like there's nothing _sick_ with grown adults putting a bunch of kids in a battlefield because they're afraid of some stupid movie characters."

"We have to save the parks." Finn insisted.

"You should be more focused on saving yourselves!" Holly fired back. "I don't care about a stupid amusement park. I don't care if the Cinderella Castle is still standing if my sister's dead!" Tears rolled down from her green eyes. _Wait_, Finn thought. _Green…?_

"How many people are you going to drag into this, Finn?" She asked, crying. "How many lives are you going to knowingly put in danger for some stupid, unwinnable quest? It's one thing to fight this yourself, but don't harm others for it.

"You think that the Overtakers are so evil." She said. "And hell, maybe they are. But don't act like you're any better." She brought the knife to his throat and pressed it to his skin. He felt a sharp pain in his neck. Holly retracted the knife and stared at him, thinking.

"You don't want people to get hurt," Finn said. "So you're hurting me instead?"

"I know it seems like backwards thinking." Holly started.

"I'll say." Finn interrupted. Holly glared at him.

"But I'm helping everyone in the end." She finished.

"You're crazy." He said. Angry, she threw the knife at his face. Finn jumped out of the way, barley avoiding it.

"Shut up!" She screamed at him. Finn got to his feet and ran out of the kitchen before she could do anything else.

~.~

Finn opened the front door of Cosmic Ray's. "Woah." Maybeck said when he saw him. "What's going on?"

"Long story." Finn said, panting. "We have to get out of here."

"What about Holly?" Maybeck asked.

"Yeah, Finn." A female voice said from behind. Holly's. _Shit_, Finn cursed in his mind. He turned around. She was a few feet behind him. She wasn't holding any knives, which was a good sign. Her eyes were still an eerie green, though. "You weren't going to leave me behind, were you?" She asked innocently.

"Come on, let's go." Maybeck said.

"No!" Finn said. "Not with her."

"Why not?" Maybeck asked, confused.

"Finn doesn't trust me." Holly said. "Wise of him, really." She conjured a ball of energy in her hands and threw it at them. It hit the door, breaking the glass. Finn had to shied his eyes to prevent from getting shards in his face.

"Go!" Finn instructed Maybeck, and the two of them ran from the restaurant.

"Okay, explain." Maybeck said once they were outside.

"I think Holly's under a spell." Finn said. "It's the only thing that makes sense. She's acting crazy. She had this whole rant about how we should give up and let the OTs win."

"What?" Maybeck said, surprised. "No way in hell."

"I know." Finn agreed. "I can understand her thinking that, but she's trying to _kill_ us. Not only that, but her eyes are green all of a sudden."

"Why green?" Maybeck asked.

"I think it's supposed to be green like Maleficent." Finn said. "She already admitted to telling the OTs the location of the hat. I think they put her under a spell."

"So how do we break the spell?" Maybeck asked.

"Well, I remember Jess saying she didn't have many memories from when she was 'Jez.'" Finn explained. "And Holly doesn't have any memories of from when we started the quest until the Haunted Mansion."

"Wait, you think she was under a spell back then, too?" Maybeck asked.

"It's possible." Finn said.

"But… her eyes weren't green."

"I know." Finn said. "I'm not sure how any of this works. Either way, she's under a spell now, and my only have one theory as to how to break it."

"Push her down a flight of stairs?" Maybeck suggested.

"No." Finn corrected. "Knock her out somehow."

~.~

"Where'd you two go?" Holly asked to no one in particular. "Come out, come out, where ever you are!"

"Over here!" Finn shouted. Holly turned towards his voice. He was standing next to Stitch's Great Escape. Holly grinned.

"Shouldn't you be hiding?" She asked him. "You're making this way too easy, you know."

"Why should I hide?" Finn asked. "You're nothing to worry about."

"Oh, really?" Holly asked, looking mildly offended by his remark. Electricity flashed around her dangerously. "Are you so sure about that?"

"Positive." He said. "Honestly, if the OTs haven't managed to defeat me yet, why do you think you can?"

"Because I'm not a vain moron, that's why." Holly said dryly.

"Really? I thought you liked the Overtakers."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Holly spat. "I gave them a few of our clues. I'm not one myself!"

"How do you think Charlene's going to feel when she finds out you betrayed her?" Finn asked. He could tell from her expression that he'd hit a nerve. "Or are you going to kill her, too?"

"No." She answered softly. Louder, she said, "I don't need to. My sister's a coward. Once she sees what happens to you, she'll leave in an instant."

"Whatever you say." Finn replied with a shrug. "I have to say, though, I'm surprised you haven't done anything yet to hurt me. Or was all of that just talk?"

She hissed and glared at him. Before Finn could see what was happening, she lunged at him and grabbed his throat. She choked him with her hands, her nails digging into his skin. Finn tried to pry her hands off with no avail. He couldn't breath, and his surroundings started to blur. He was sure how long she had been choking, but he knew he didn't have long. She had been right—she would kill him. It was only a matter of seconds…

Suddenly, she let go, falling to the ground. Finn stumbled back, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?" Maybeck asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"I-I think so." Finn said. "What happened?"

"I hit her with this." Maybeck said, holding up a frying pan. "Found it in the kitchen. Anyway, it knocked her out. Dude, she was trying strangle you."

"Don't remind me." Finn said. He kneeled down and looked at Holly. "Her head's bleeding."

"Your next was bleeding, too." Maybeck said. "Did she do that?"

"Yeah." Finn answered. "It's over, though. Come on, let's go to the apartment."

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


	12. Chapter Eleven: Afterwards

**Hello, I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been really busy lately. I had a research project I had to do, and a bunch of tests. I'm actually going to be gone next week to go to a French competition in Orlando (Congres), so there might not be an update next week. Sorry. But we are getting close to the end of the story. There's actually a clue in this chapter about what the prequel is going to be about.**

**Anyway, thanks to anonymous, A.I.T.W, and Katy russo for the reviews. You guys are awesome! On with the chapter...**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ELEVEN<strong>

"The cut doesn't look too bad," Willa said, handing him a wet rag. Finn wiped the now dried blood off his neck. "She didn't cut that deep. I think she just wanted I scare you."

"Well, she succeeded." Finn replied. He sat down on the floor of the apartment, glancing at the unconscious girl sleeping on the couch beside him. Holly had woken up briefly when they first brought her here, asking worriedly where she was and what had happened. Finn was relieved to see that her eyes had turned back to her normal amber color. They had explained to her the events of the past day, at which point she had fallen back asleep.

Wanda had arrived shortly after that. Charlene had explained tearfully to her how Wayne had died, and although Finn had already heard the tale, he felt his insides freeze up at the mention of Wayne. It had been almost and hour since he had died, and Finn still couldn't quite process what had happened. The whole night felt like a blur.

Wanda hadn't been too surprised when Finn told her of Holly's insanity. "Yes, I thought—and feared—something like that would happen," she had told him. "The Overtakers, notably the Evil Queen from Snow White, are very well versed in spell work. Turning one of you against each other seemed like the logical thing to do." She had warned him and the others to be cautious, not of Holly, but of those around them. "They're likely to do again." She explained. "I'd keep an eye out for green eyes, if I were you."

"And remember," she had added, "it's not Holly's fault, what happened. Please don't blame her."

He looked out the window at the park, not focusing at anything in particular. A few odd streetlights were still on, but the majority of the park—rides, restaurants, everything—was closed up and turned off. Almost complete darkness in an almost completely empty park. In the dim light, it looked scary and unfamiliar, not the magical place he had spent so much of his childhood adoring.

Not for long, he realized. The sun was coming up. A new day was beginning, one separate from the tragedy that had taken place earlier.

"Hey," a voice said softly from behind him. He turned around to see Amanda.

"Hey," he answered. She hugged him.

"It's just so awful," she whispered. "Everyone is so quiet." He nodded, not letting go of her. Usually, when the Keepers had met, there was constant chatter. Everyone had their own little conversation, complaining about school or enthusing about a movie that was coming out soon. Now, hardly anyone spoke, and those who did, did it in whispers.

"I just can't believe it," he mumbled to her. "It feels like a dream. Like any moment I'm going to wake up and find out that none of it ever happened." He let go, and continued to stare through the window.

"I know," she said quietly. "I felt the same way when my parents died." He looked at her, surprised. Amanda hardly ever mentioned her family.

"I'm sorry," he said. Of course, Amanda was used to this. So was Jess and Maybeck, and by the looks of it, Wanda, too.

She shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about it now," she replied sadly.

"That's just how life is; everyone dies eventually. It always hurts, but you learn how to move on after awhile. It'll be like that with Wayne eventually...but not now." Finn nodded numbly at her. The more he thought about, the more real everything seemed.

"You guys should get back." Wanda said, walking towards them. "The others already returned... You guys need your sleep." Looking around, Finn realized that the apartment was empty except for the three of them and Holly.

"How's she supposed to get home?" He asked her.

"I'll drive her," Wanda answered. "I've already called her parents and told them what happened."

"Everything?" Amanda questioned.

Wanda nodded. "Yes, everything. Yours too, Finn. She yawned. "I'll have to call all of the parents and guardians soon."

"Even Mrs. Nash?" Amanda asked worriedly.

Wanda gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, she won't have to know everything. I will explain that you knew my dad, and tell her about the-the funeral." She stopped abruptly, and Finn could see tears forming in her eyes. He felt awful, but something occurred to him.

"Wait," Finn said. "If you tell our parents, they're not going to let us help!

They'll stop us from crossing over!"

Wanda nodded, wiping her eyes. "I know. We're going to shut off the server so you don't cross over. We'll convince them not to withdrawal from the DHI program. Both your parents and the Turners agreed, and while they may be reluctant, I'm sure the others will, too."

"But you can't shut down the server!" Finn insisted. "Who's going to stop the

Overtakers? They already have the hat, they're going take over the park if we don't do anything!"

"I'm afraid they already have," Wanda told him grimly. "It won't be evident for some time, but the Overtakers have control. It's not safe for us anymore. That's why I want you two to leave now. The sooner we can shut down the server, the better."

"We're not going to do anything?" Amanda asked her incredulously. "We're just going to let them win?"

"Eventually," Wanda explained, "you will return. But for the moment, it's not wise. Let's wait at least until school is out. You'll know when. Trust me." She looked both of them in the eye. "Now, I need you to promise me something.

Promise me that no matter what, until I tell you, you will not enter the parks or attack any of the Overtakers. Okay?"

Though he wasn't happy about it, Finn agreed. Amanda did as well, and Wanda handed them the return.

"Good bye," she said, giving them both hugs. "I'll see you both later in the week." They both have her their good byes, and Finn pushed the button.

~.~

"'_Disney Employee Passes Saturday Morning_

"'_At approximately 2:30 AM Saturday morning, 78-year-old Wayne Kresky was found dead in his apartment at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort. Kresky died from an apparent heart attack, reports are saying._' So that's what they're saying," Holly murmured, reading the article aloud from her laptop. "Then again, I don't think people would exactly believe them if they said that he had been killed by evil animated characters."

Charlene flipped through her history textbook. "What else does it say?" She asked curiously. Not many people at school had paid attention to the report of an elderly Imagineer dying; most were more interested about the apparent break-in at Cosmic Ray's the night before.

"Oh, just summarizing stuff about his life. Y'know, started the DHI program, worked with Walt Disney, etc. They even mention Wanda in here..." Her voice drifted off as she finished the article. "This whole thing is so weird," she said. "It reminds me of when Andy Waters died."

"Who?"

"My old baby sitter," Holly explained. "She lived a few minutes from here. She died the year before I went to France."

"Oh, right." Charlene remembered. The girl had been found dead in her room years ago, covered in blood. Police had been baffled by the case. Her house clearly hadn't been broken into, and her parents hadn't noticed anything unusual. She had had some type of surgery a few days before, and the police decided that it had somehow lead to her death. Still, many remained skeptical; some even insisting it was murder.

"Are you going to the funeral?" Charlene asked her, changing the subject. It was to be held on Wednesday.

"I don't know," Holly admitted. "I mean, I only met him once. I feel bad not going, though..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Charlene pointed out.

"I know," Holly said. "I just feel like I shouldn't be allowed to." Charlene held back a groan. Holly had been saying this for days, and wouldn't believe anyone who said otherwise.

"I mean, it's practically my fault. If I hadn't told the OTs where the hat was—"

"Wayne probably would've been killed anyway," Charlene interrupted. "How many times do I have to tell it's not your fault?"

"But it is!" Holly insisted.

"No, it's not." Charlene contradicted. "Holly, you don't even _remember_ doing that. How can you feel guilty for something you don't remember?"

"I just can." Holly said stubbornly. "And Finn—"

"Not your fault either," Charlene said, annoyed. She was getting sick of hearing Holly mope.

"I was trying to kill him! What if I had?"

"Then none of us would hold it against you," Charlene told her sister.

Holly raised an eyebrow at her. "You really believe that?"

"Yes."

"Even your boyfriend?" Holly questioned. "He was there, you know."

"Oh, please, the only person you'd have to worry about is Amanda. She'd kill you." Charlene paused, thinking about what Holly had said. "Maybeck's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, really?" Holly asked. "'Cause I say you guys, er, 'talking' yesterday, and it sure seemed like you were." Charlene glared at her sister.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she sniffed.

Holly snorted. "Sure you don't. I must say though, Charlene, you two definitely make an odd couple." She was hit with a pillow. "Hey!" She cried. "What was that for?"

"You're disrupting my work. I'm trying to study." Charlene said, turning back to her textbook.

"You haven't changed that page in at least five minutes." Holly pointed out.

"I said trying, didn't I?" Charlene closed her textbook and stood up. "I'm going to my room."

"Whatever," Holly shrugged. She closed her laptop and sighed.

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><p><strong>Random ending, but I wasn't sure how else to end it. R&amp;R!<strong>


	13. Chapter Twelve: Funeral

**Thanks for the reviews! I got a superior at the french competition! Yay!**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWELVE<strong>

The next few days passed by rather slowly. School was as dull and boring as ever. It seemed as if their teachers had gone out of their way to torture them. One day blended into the next without even a meeting at the Frozen Marble to break up the monotony. The Keepers' parents had forbidden the teens from contacting each other in fear of their kids getting hurt. And after everything that had happened over the weekend, none of the Keepers had the will to rebel. Eventually, after what seemed like months to them, Wednesday had come.

~.~

Mrs. Whitman pulled into the driveway of the church. Turning off the engine, she stole a furtive glance at her son, her expression filled with worry and sorrow. "Come on," she said softly, "Let's go inside."

Finn looked at her, noticing her frown. "I don't want to," he mumbled.

Mrs. Whitman sighed. She remembered when her father had died, years before either of her kids had been born. It had been pouring that day, quite a contrast to the almost perfect weather of today. The weather itself was rather surprising—September in Florida featured rainstorms and not much else. After everything her son had told her about the Overtakers and their possession of the magical hat, she had expected ominous dark clouds and lightning, not the beautiful blue sky currently above her. Of course, despite the absurdity of the characters' existence, this was still reality. And reality had to be faced eventually. "None of us do," she told him, "but we have to." She unlocked the car door and climbed out.

~.~

The service was relatively short. It started about twenty minutes after Finn arrived. The minister talked and read passages from the Bible. Finn couldn't focus much on the individual words. He flipped through the pamphlet he had been given, not giving more than a cursory glance to the actual contents. Now, after all of the days that had passed since Saturday morning, it was finally hitting him. Seeing the coffin, being surrounded by crying people, he final seemed to process it all: Wayne was dead. Wayne wasn't coming back. He was gone forever, never to return to the Earth…

Without realizing it, he began crying, too. As upset as he was, he couldn't help but also feel a bit angry. It wasn't fair. Wayne shouldn't have had to die. He should still be alive and well as before. Finn shouldn't have to be here, at a funeral. They should have gotten the hat, hidden it, and continued on as they had before. He hated that Maleficent had to be real. He hated that she had to power to take other lives. She had no remorse. At the end of the day, none of this affected her in the slightest. It gave him more incentive to stop her, and the rest of the Overtakers as well. He wished he could do something…

His anger burned out pretty quickly. Once again he felt sad, but rather lethargic as well. All of his energy seemed to drain out of him. He saw Wanda in the front row with some people he didn't recognize, most likely her family. He pitied her. He couldn't imagine what she was going through. He had only known Wayne for a handful of years. Wanda knew him her whole life. He was her father, one of the people she loved most in the world. Finn looked up at his mother. He wondered what it would be like with her gone, and felt grateful that she was still there.

~.~

He found Holly on the bench outside. She was sitting by a fountain, apparently oblivious to the little droplets of water that would splash on her face every few moments. Her eyes were unfocused, and her expression was blank.

"You okay?" He asked, sitting down next to her. He felt like an idiot the second after he did. Of course she wasn't. They were at a bloody funeral.

She turned her head towards him, lifting her eyes to see him. She gave a small shrug, and resumed her old position.

"Well, it's over now," he said, not quite sure why he was bothering. "We're going to Wanda's house soon."

"I'm not going," Holly replied quietly. "I brought my bike, I'm just going to head back home." Finn stared at the green bike parked by the curb. He had seen Charlene, and he knew she had driven there. Why had Holly gone separately?

"Did you go to the service?" He asked, confused. Holly shook her head.

"No, I came to late," she told him. "I originally told my mom I wasn't coming, so she left without me. My house is near here, but it's still a ways off. By the time I got here, it had already started. I didn't want to interrupt."

"Oh," Finn said. "Well, that's okay. You still tried to, and I think Wanda would appreciate it." After a moment of silence, he added, "I've never been to a funeral before."

"I have," Holly murmured. "When I was four. My dad's father got sick. I think he had the flu or something. He was already pretty old, and his immune system wasn't that great… It was a bit of a shock for my dad. He was so upset about it, and I was way too young to understand why… The thing I remember the most was the day he died." She sniffed. "September 13."

Finn frowned. "Wait, isn't that your—"

"My birthday, yeah," Holly explained. "It was the worst birthday ever."

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Holly said, "I hate being taken advantage of."

"I think everyone does," Finn pointed out.

"Yeah, but some people are manipulated more then others," Holly told him. "Usually the ones people think are weak, the ones that don't have as many friends to protect them. It's not fair. Why did I have to be picked? Am I really that pitiful that I can be turned into a spy and not even realize it?"

It took a moment for Finn to figure out what Holly was referring to. "You're not still beating yourself up over that, are you?" He asked. "Holly, the OTs have put tons of people under spells. It doesn't mean they think your weak, or that we're any better then you are. They just happened to pick you. Pure chance."

"If it's pure chance, then why isn't this the first time it's happened?" Holly demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked confused. "The Overtakers—"

"I'm not just talking about the Overtakers!" Holly snapped. "My whole life people have picking on and taking advantage of me. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of letting it happen, of being so passive all the time." Finn have her and incredulous look. Since when had Holly been passive?

Holly clenched her fists. "I can't do this anymore," she told him.

"Can't do what?"

"The Keepers!" She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm sorry Finn, but I simply can't. It's just too much." She sighed. "I need to be on my own for a while."

"We won't be doing any Keeper business for a while," Finn informed her. "You'll have plenty of time off. We'll continue in a few months—it'll be fine."

"I'm not continuing," she said. She looked at him. "I… I need to go." She stood up and quickly got on her bike.

~.~

"It was the most bizarre thing ever," Finn told Philby. "I don't know what's up with her." Philby didn't seem too concerned.

"She'll be fine, just give her some time." He instructed. His phone buzzed, and he read the message. "Sorry, I have to go," he told Finn.

Finn wandered off, looking around the house. He had spotted Willa earlier, but other then that, hadn't seen any of the Keepers. Amanda and Jess hadn't been able to come to Wanda's, but he knew the others were there somewhere.

"Finn?" He heard a voice from behind. He turned to see Wanda, holding what looked like a scrapbook in her hand.

"Hi," he greeted her. He pointed at the scrapbook. "What's that?" He asked.

"Something my father made," Wanda explained. She stared at the cover. "He started it decades ago, writing whenever there was a strange occurrence that he thought was related to the Overtakers. He's added a lot recently."

"It's a scrapbook about the OTs?" Finn asked. _Well that sounds just delightful._

"Not exactly," Wanda said. "It's more about you guys then them. He has a lot of information about characters both good and bad in here. I've only seen this once, when I was much younger. A few years ago he told me where he hid it, and that if anything happened to him I should give it to the current leader of the DHIs."

"So you're giving it me?" Finn asked, surprised.

Wanda laughed. "Well, you are the leader, aren't you?" She handed him the scrapbook. "Don't look at it right now—wait for later."

"Can I show the others?" He asked.

"I don't see why not," Wanda said. "I'd still be careful about where you put it. You wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands."

Finn nodded. He wasn't sure why the scrapbook was so important, but he knew he would not leave out of his sight.


	14. Epilogue: Running

_Thank you to those who reviewed!_

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><p><strong>EPILOGUE<strong>

Holly scampered around her room, grabbing random bits of clothing lying on the floor and dumping it in a basket beside her. She picked up one of the jackets in the basket and shoved it into her backpack. Standing up, she surveyed her bedroom. It wasn't too messy. Maybe not up to her mother's standards, but Holly had long since cared about pleasing her mother. Cleaning was only a cover after all. In reality, she was searching—looking for items that would benefit her on her trip. Crossing into the bathroom, she picked up one of the disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste containers.

"Holly?"

Holly's head jerked towards the door. "Who is it?" She asked politlely, even though she very well knew the voice. She hid the backpack in one of the cabinets.

"Just me," her mother replied, poking her head through the door. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay, maman," Holly answered. "I'll be there in a minute." She glanced at the cabinet where her bag was stored. She would worry about that later.

~.~

"Finn, is something wrong?" Finn looked at his girlfriend.

"Everything's fine," he lied, giving her a slight smile. He could tell from the expression on her face that Amanda didn't buy a word of it.

"If you say so," she muttered. "So, what did you want to show me?"

"This," Finn answered, handing the scrapbook to her.

"A book?" She asked, confused.

"Not just any book," Finn explained, "A scrapbook. A scrapbook that Wayne created and Wanda gave to me."

"What?" Amanda gasped. She examined the book. "When?"

"The funeral," Finn answered.

"Two weeks ago?" Amanda said. "Finn, why did you tell us about this?"

"I am now," he said. "'Manda, I didn't even open this until this morning. I'm not trying to hide anything from you."

"But why did you wait?" She asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just… wasn't ready yet." Amanda nodded slowly, and opened it.

The first page was a large article from a newspaper, announcing the opening of Disneyland. Next to it was a ticket, which had been plastered on to the page. Pictures littered the background. Turning the page, Amanda noticed this was the same for the next few pages. Except, the articles began mentioning strange events happening in Anaheim, reporting breakouts and disappearances. At the bottom of the third page, notes had been scrawled in a handwriting she recognized as Wayne's. Squinting, she read it:

_**Guards reported sightings of objects moving on their own. Some saw objects move themselves; others noticed things changing location when they weren't paying attention. Rumors are spreading about ghosts in the park, though most believe pranksters are the cause. Walt seems skeptical, but hasn't given any theory as to what's causing it.**_

She looked at the dates from the newspapers… early 1960s. Had this really been happening that long?

_**Walt thinks characters—Disney characters—are the cause of our misery. I admit I am skeptical, but when has Walt been wrong? He knows more about the park then anyone. I asked him if the characters were being malicious or just playing around… he said there were some of both.**_

Flipping forward a few pages, the death of Walt Disney was reported, and the subject of the notes and articles changed location, shifting to Orlando.

_**The Imagineers are convinced of the stories now. I told them of the Stonecutter's Quill, but none of us have been able to crack the code. Time will tell. We will figure this out, before it gets out of control.**_

Drawings began popping up in the pages, similar to those of Jess's. Wayne must have drawn them, Amanda realized. The drawings depicted various characters, some running around, others fighting. Both good and bad were shown. Each was dated at the bottom, and Amanda noticed a jump in the dates. One was from the 70s, the next from 1994. Frowning, she looked at the last note.

_**The group has buried the hat. I don't know the location, and it is probably better that way. The less that know, the less chance it will be discovered. The silence here has been unsettling. It's as if all of the characters have gone into hiding. There has been a temperature drop here, and we suspect he is behind it.**_

"He…" Amanda mumbled. "You think he means Chernabog?"

"Probably," Finn nodded. He flipped the page and pointed to a set of notes from 1998. "Read this."

_**The Imagineers have been searching for a way to communicate with the characters. We need a liaison, a translator. If we can't see them, how are we to stop the evil ones? We don't have much time. We've begun dubbing them as "Overtakers," since that seems to be their primary goal. I wonder how we will get our guides. We need a front, something to get us resources to build or find these guides.**_

"They've had this idea for awhile, huh?" Amanda said.

"Yeah," Finn responded. "He doesn't mention the idea for holographic hosts until… here." He turned the page and pointed. Amanda read.

_**We are going to develop holograms. We will find teenagers to be our guides. We're looking for kids of Disney employees to raise the least amount of suspicion. We're not sure if the technology is advanced enough yet, though. It may be some time before we succeed. If anyone asks, the holograms will be guides for the Magic Kingdom. We may actually use this, if the guides take too long.**_

"That's from 2003…" Amanda said. She looked at the next page and gasped. The drawing this time was of three teenagers, one boy and two girls. The boy had his arms around the girls, and the three smiled as if friends. What shocked her was the familiar glow around them. It was as if the three were DHIs themselves, but how could that be?

"Wayne said we were the first of our kind," Finn said, and Amanda detected a hint of bitterness in his voice. "As if."

"I don't get it."

"Don't you see?" Finn asked. "He lied to us. We weren't the first DHIs! These kids were."

"If that's the case, then why didn't they become the hosts?" Amanda questioned.

"Well, they have to be in college now." Finn said. "Two of them, anyway."

"Two of them?" She asked, puzzled. Finn flipped the page. A large article was plastered at the top, reporting, _**TEEN FOUND DEAD IN HOME.**_ Below it was the same picture, except one of the girls was missing. The boy's arm was still out, as if holding a ghost. Under it, two addresses were scribbled as well as one word: **ENDGAME**.

"That's the last page," Finn explained. "The rest was ripped out."

"Ripped out?" Amanda asked. "Was it like that when Wanda gave it to you?"

"I don't know," Finn answered with a shrug. "I haven't been able to contact her."

"I wonder where it is," Amanda mused. "Wanda wouldn't have taken it herself. That doesn't make sense."

"We can worry about that later," Finn said, closing the scrapbook. He let out a yawn. "Personally, I could use a break from Kingdom Keeping at the moment." Amanda nodded.

"I second that," she said. "Want to get some ice cream?" Finn hesitated, something that Amanda noticed. "Something wrong?"

"No," he answered immediately. Amanda raised her eyebrow at him. "Well…" He sighed. "Amanda… this past month has been insane. You know that. Everything with the hat, and Wayne…" He paused, trying to think of a way to describe it. "It's been really hectic, and I just need a break. Some time to think."

"I think we all do," Amanda said softly. "Finn, where are you going with this?" She was almost afraid of the answer. She knew what he was going to say, and she didn't like it.

"I just… I need a break. From us." He sighed again.

"Your breaking up with me." It wasn't a question.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Just for awhile. A month from now, maybe two… we could get back together. I'm just not in the best mind to be in a relationship right now, okay?"

Amanda nodded, fighting back tears. "I can't say I'm surprised," she told him. "You've been awfully distant lately."

"I'm sorry," he repeated. Amanda shifted uncomfortably. A grabbed the scrapbook.

"Can I show this to Jess?" She asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Just keep it from your roommates."

"Of course," she replied, and stood up. "Well… bye."

"Bye."

~.~

"Hey, Holly!" Charlene skipped into her sister's room, holding a blue dress. "See what I got at the store!" She stopped, gazing around the room. "Holly?" Her sister wasn't there. She looked into the next room, searching for her sister. Holly was nowhere to be found.

"Mom, have you seen Holly?" Charlene asked her mother as she entered the kitchen.

"Not since dinner." Her mother answered. "Why?"

"I can't find her." Charlene said. "You don't think she outside, do you?"

"She shouldn't be," her mother replied. "It's dark out." Seeing the worried look on her daughter's face, she said, "Don't worry, she's here somewhere."

After minutes of looking, it turned out the Holly _wasn't_ there. "I don't like this," her mother said.

~.~

Holly ran, her feet hitting the pavement at a fast but steady pace. She couldn't stop now. Not when she knew they were out there, looking for her. How did they know about her plan? Was it a coincidence? Had they been waiting all night for one of them to come out? All she knew for sure was that those pirates were definitely a pain.

She ran and ran, getting farther away with every passing minute. Farther from her home, farther from Walt Disney World, farther from anything she knew or cared about. The sidewalk she followed was foreign to her. She felt her legs tire and her backpack seemed to get heavier. The pages she had taken felt like a hundred pounds, weighing her down. She couldn't leave them behind. They were too valuable to reach the Overtakers hands. They already had too much of what wasn't theirs.

She stopped by a mall, only to find it closed. It was too late to find a store to hide in, and too late to head back. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed her pursuers were gone. She looked at the clock on her phone—11:42. What was she going to do now? She had nowhere to go. It was getting dark.

She slumped down into a nearby bench. Tears ran down her face. _This isn't happening. _She couldn't do this. She couldn't…

Holly jerked up. No, crying wouldn't do anything. She had to stay calm. She needed a plan. In a few hours, the sun would come up, and she would continue on. She couldn't go home. No, this was her opportunity. She had to find them, and tell them that they were needed. She didn't know how long it would take. Once the sun came, she would run again.

If only she knew where she was going.

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><p><strong>END OF STORY<strong>


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